Man charged in slaying of former Notre Dame student

The Knoxville Police Department this morning charged Micah Johnson, 21, with first degree murder in the death of Carrie Daugherty, a former Chattanoogan and a 2001 graduate of Notre Dame High School.

The body of the former University of Tennessee student and employee of Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria in the Old City was found Wednesday morning in North Knoxville.

Mr. Johnson is being held under $900,000 bond.

Police had been searching Johnson as a “person of interest” in the case when an officer sighted his red Ford F-150 pickup truck at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday near the North Knoxville street where Ms. Daugherty’s body was found. A pursuit ensued, and ended when the pickup stopped on the Henley Street Bridge, according to reports..

The exact cause of death has not been released anda an autopsy has been ordered.

At Notre Dame, Ms. Daugherty was named the school’s homecoming queen her senior year, as well as most spirited. She was a cheerleader and participated in campus ministries and youth activities, according to Notre Dame principal Perry Storey.

For full coverage see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.