TN (WOKI) An East Tennessee couple at the center of a child abuse and murder investigation is due in court this week, possibly putting an end to their case according to District Attorney Russell Johnson.
Michael Anthony Gray and Shirley Ann Gray’s case has been moving through the Roane and Knox County court systems for years after an investigation into their treatment of their children was prompted in 2020.
The couple has four open cases in both Knox and Roane counties; all of which could be resolved as soon as Tuesday. The Knox County case is centered on Michael and Shirley Gray and Michael Gray, Jr. who are accused of murdering an adopted child found buried at their home in Halls. The parents also face murder charges in the death of another adopted child whose remains were found in Roane County.
The Grays waived their venue option allowing Roane County Criminal Court Judge Jeff Wicks to handle both the Knox and Roane County portions of the case during a hearing scheduled for Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m. in the Roane County Courthouse.
The Pineville Police Department in Bell County, Kentucky, is asking for help finding a missing teen that could be in the Morristown area.
16-year-old Trayce Gann was last seen in Pineville on May 12, wearing a hoodie and blue jeans. Police said he was also carrying three large bags on foot.
Gann is described as being 5′9″ tall and 145 pounds, according to PPD.
Anyone with information is asked to call Bell County Dispatch at 606-337-6174.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 1/1 Tennessee struggled at the plate in a 3-0 loss to No. 25/NR Vanderbilt in Sunday’s series finale at Hawkins Field in Nashville.
The Commodores were able to avoid being swept for the second straight time at home against the Volunteers thanks in large part to a pair of impressive pitching performances from JD Thompson and Devin Futrell, who stymied UT’s lineup throughout the afternoon.
Thompson got the start and tossed six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while racking up nine strikeouts and issuing three walks to get the win and improve to 4-1 on the year.
Futrell entered the game with runners on first and second with no outs in the seventh and struck out the next three batters to get Vandy out of the jam. The junior lefthander went on to finish the game and record his first save of the season.
Dylan Dreiling had the only three base hits of the day for the Big Orange with three singles, one in the second inning, one to lead off the seventh and another with one out in the ninth. Tennessee’s three hits were its fewest in a game this season as it was shut out for the first time this year.
Vanderbilt scored all three of its runs in the first two innings, plating a pair in the bottom of the first on a two-run homer by Alan Espinal before adding another on an RBI single off the bat of Jonathan Vastine in the third. All three runs for the Dores came with two outs.
Righthander Nate Snead provided the Vols with a valiant effort out of the bullpen and kept the team within striking distance with 4.1 scoreless innings of relief, striking out four batters while scattering five hits.
Lefty relievers Andrew Behnke and Kirby Connell also had scoreless outings out of the pen, pitching the final 1.2 innings.
STAT OF THE GAME: With this weekend’s series win in Nashville, the Big Orange continued its recent run of success against their in-state rival.
Tennessee has now won back-to-back series at Vanderbilt for the first time since winning three series in a row in 1990, 1993 and 1995.
UT’s nine game win streak against the Commodores was its longest since recording 22 straight victories in the series from May 9, 1964 through April 24, 1970.
UP NEXT: The Vols return to Knoxville to finish the regular season with four home games next week, starting with another in-state tilt against Belmont on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee softball was announced as the No. 3 national seed in the 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament Sunday night when the bracket was revealed on ESPN2. The Lady Vols will play host to the NCAA Knoxville Regional for the 19th consecutive season.
The Lady Vols’ seeding is the highest in program history.
UT is set to welcome Virginia, Miami (OH) and Dayton to Sherri Parker Lee Stadium for the NCAA Knoxville Regional this weekend from Friday, May 17 to Sunday, May 19. The four-team event will be double-elimination with the winner moving on to the NCAA Super Regional round.
Tennessee will play A10 champion Dayton on Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+. Virginia will take on Miami (OH) on Friday at noon on ESPN+.
The Lady Vols will make their 21st overall and 20th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend. Tennessee has advanced to the postseason every year since 2004 and has hosted 19 straight regional rounds in Knoxville.
UT is one of just two teams to host regionals every season since the NCAA switched to a regional and super-regional format in 2005.
Tennessee enters the national tournament having won back-to-back SEC regular season titles for the first time in program history.
Eight Lady Vols and head coach Karen Weekly earned SEC postseason awards last week on the heels of another dominating run through conference play. Weekly was named SEC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row and for the fourth time during her tenure on Rocky Top.
In the circle, sophomore Karlyn Pickens was tabbed as the league’s pitcher of the year – joining Monica Abbott as the only Lady Vols to bring home the honor.
Friday’s two winners will play in Game 3 on Saturday at 1 p.m. The losers from Friday’s games will play in Game 4 at 3:30 p.m., and the loser from Game 3 will face the winner from Game 4 at 6 p.m. to conclude play on Saturday.
Times for Game 6 and the if necessary Game 7 on Sunday are still to be determined.
The 16 winning teams from their respective regional sites will advance the Super Regional round, which will take place from May 23-26, depending on the host site. All Super Regional sites will feature broadcasts on the ESPN family of networks.
PARKING
Fans please be advised; it is graduation weekend at the University of Tennessee and traffic will be heavy around Neyland Drive and UT’s campus. All fans looking to attend the softball regional should be prepared for traffic congestion. Fans are reminded that parking shuttles will be free and available at the Agriculture Campus all weekend.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE Friday, May 17 SPL gates open at 11:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. – Game 1 (Miami (OH) vs. Virginia) 2:30 p.m. – Game 2 (Dayton vs. Tennessee)
Saturday, May 18 SPL gates open at 12:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. – Game 3 3:30 p.m. – Game 4 6:00 p.m. – Game 5
Sunday, May 19 SPL gates open TBD TBD – Game 6 TBD – Game 7 (if necessary)
A special tribute in honor of a Heritage High School graduate, the badge of a fallen officer worn by his son.
Cayden McCowan, the son of Blount County Deputy Greg McCowan who was shot and killed in the line of duty in February, graduated Friday night and he wore his father’s badge over his heart during the ceremony and was joined by several members from Deputy McCowan’s shift.
Sheriff James Berrong told Cayden that everyone at at BCSO are proud of him and his accomplishments and look forward to seeing him achieve his dreams.
Knoxville Police are investigating a hit and run along Maryville Pike in South Knoxville.
Police say it happened in the overnight hours of Friday or Saturday morning. There were no occupants in the vehicle but sadly signs of alcohol consumption.
KPD reminding motorist there is absolutely no reason for driving under the influence. KPD says they are committed to stopping DUI offenders and holding them accountable for their reckless choices.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, every 39 minutes, a person is killed on our roadways in a DUI related crash. In 2022, just over 13,500 people died in DUI related crashes in the U.S.
Knoxville Police are investigating a shooting that has left a 2 year-old girl in critical condition and two juveniles are facing charges.
KPD and the Knoxville Fire Department were called to an apartment at The Vista apartment complex on East Hill Avenue Saturday evening, where the two-year-old girl was struck after a gun was discharged inside the apartment. Two juvenile males, ages 14 and 12, who were detained following the shooting , have been charged with felony reckless endangerment and juvenile in possession of a firearm. Additional charges are likely.
It is believed that the victim was struck after a firearm was unintentionally discharged inside the apartment. No other injuries were reported.
The annual City of Sevierville Bloomin’ BBQ Music & Food Festival will take place in the downtown area on May 17 and 18. To facilitate the event, several streets must be temporarily closed, and the Sevier County Courthouse will be closed on Friday, May 17.
The following streets and parking areas will close at approximately 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 16 (ALL non-event vehicles must be removed from these areas by 6:00 p.m.):
Municipal Parking Lot on Bruce Street. Bruce Street: from the Parkway to Citizens National Bank. Court Avenue: from Commerce Street to Joy Street.
The following roads will be closed as noted on Friday, May 17 (ALL non-event vehicles must be removed from these areas by the time noted):
Bruce Street: from Forks of the River Parkway to Citizens National Bank-6:00 p.m. Court Avenue: from Commerce Street to the Central Hotel-1:00 p.m. Commerce Street-1:00 p.m.
The Sevier County Courthouse will be closed Friday, May 17.
All streets and parking areas will reopen on Sunday, May 19, at approximately 11:00 a.m.
Please remember that although the streets are closing, downtown businesses may remain open. Park in a nearby event parking lot and enjoy a spring stroll to downtown businesses, restaurants and shops.
For more information on the Bloomin’ BBQ Music & Food Festival, call (865) 453-6411 or visit online at https://www.bloominbbq.com/
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 1/1 Tennessee battled throughout the afternoon and eventually came out on top to earn a gritty 7-6 victory at No. 25/NR Vanderbilt on Saturday at Hawkins Field, securing its eighth straight series win in the process.
After falling behind 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth, the Volunteers struck for four runs in the top of the sixth and added what proved to be another important run in the seventh before fending off a Commodores’ rally in the ninth and holding on for their ninth consecutive victory over their in-state rival.
Christian Moore continued his incredible 2024 campaign with another dazzling performance for the Big Orange, driving in five of the team’s seven runs on three hits, including a three-run homer to the opposite field on a 102-mph fastball from Vandy relief pitcher Greysen Carter in UT’s decisive four-run sixth inning.
The New York native also drove in Tennessee’s first run of the day with an infield single in the top of the third inning and had what turned out to be the game-winning hit with another RBI single with two outs in the top of the seventh. While he didn’t have any RBIs, Blake Burke also had a productive afternoon at the plate, finishing with three hits and a run scored after being held without a hit in Friday’s series opener.
Cal Stark had the only other RBI of the day for UT, driving in Dylan Dreiling with a bases-loaded bloop single into left-center field in the top of the fourth inning. The senior backstop also had a triple to finish the game with a pair of hits.
Drew Beam got the win to improve to 7-2 on the year despite giving up five runs on six hits. The junior righthander battled throughout his outing and finished with six strikeouts in a workmanlike performance.
Relievers Aaron Combs and Nate Snead where able to lock things down over the final 3.1 innings, holding the Dores to just one run on one hit in that span. Combs tossed 2.2 innings before handing the ball off the Snead with one out and the tying run on second in the bottom of the ninth.
The sophomore flamethrower got Colin Barczi to fly out to right field before inducing a groundout from Camden Kozeal to end the game and strand the tying run at second, earning his fourth save of the season in the process.
Kozeal led the Vandy attack with a pair of hits, including a two-run homer that put the Commodores ahead 3-2 in the fourth inning. Carter suffered the loss for VU after allowing four runs on three hits while recording just one out.
STAT OF THE GAME: With his sixth inning blast, Moore became the first Vol to reach the 50-homer mark for his career and also moved into sole possession of second place on UT’s single-season home runs list with 23, just one shy of Sonny Cortez’s program record of 24 set in 1998.
UP NEXT: The Vols (42-9, 19-7 SEC) will attempt to secure their third series sweep in a row over the Commodores (33-18, 11-15 SEC) when the two teams square off at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN2.
