Bledsoe County authorities this week are continuing a probe into a July 25 house fire after which a woman's body was found inside the structure.
Sheriff's office Investigator Ricky Seals said Tuesday that officials so far have neither ruled out foul play nor confirmed that anything suspicious happened in the fire.
On July 25, a contractor found the home of Hazel Louise Reece, 63, burned to the ground with her inside, officials said. Reece had told family members in the days before the fire she saw straw stuffed under her house and was worried that someone might try to burn her in her home.
Seals said Tuesday that he couldn't discuss details yet but that interviews probably will continue through the week.
Bledsoe authorities have been unusually busy this summer with the investigation of a double slaying that came a few days after the fire and Reece's death.
Two elderly sisters, Elizabeth Brown, 82, and Billie Sue Blaylock, 79, were found shot dead at a home on Mill Dam Road on Aug. 16. Brown's daughter-in-law, Brenda K. Brown, 47, was charged Aug. 24 with two counts of first-degree murder in the slayings.
Authorities said Tuesday that no bond has been set for Brenda Brown and an arraignment hearing is pending.
Officials are working out a date for Rhea County General Sessions Judge Jim McKenzie to preside over Brenda Brown's arraignment and any motions in her case, Bledsoe County Circuit Court Clerk Michael Walker said.
During a hearing Aug. 26 to assign Brenda Brown's legal counsel, Bledsoe County General Sessions Judge Howard Upchurch recused himself from the case because he had represented the sisters recently in a change of their wills and earlier had represented Brenda Brown in another case, he said.
Upchurch appointed the public defender's office to represent Brenda Brown before removing himself from proceedings.
Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee and previously covered North Georgia education. Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005, first covering Bledsoe and Sequatchie counties and later adding Marion, Grundy and other counties in the northern and western edges of the region to his coverage. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Tenn., a graduate of Bradley Central High School. Benton ...
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Something's not right about this article. Why does the headline mention a "court date," when the text says nothing about a court date for the victim? The only court date mentioned in the article is the Aug. 26 hearing for the woman accused in the double-slaying of two different victims. It's almost as if Mr. Benton is suggesting a connection between the fire death and the slayings of the other two women.
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