Willard Clifton LandThe man accused of killing a 24-year-old woman with a steak knife on Saturday night in Sequatchie County, Tenn., has previously been convicted of homicide.
Willard Clifton Land, 72, of Dunlap, served between 15 and 20 years in the California prison system on a murder conviction, according to Sequatchie County Sheriff Ronnie Hitchcock.
Hitchcock was not sure in which county that killing occurred, but confirmed that Land served time for a murder he committed more than 40 years ago.
Officers were dispatched on Saturday night around 9:30 p.m. to 210 Keener Road, located in the Cagle community of Sequatchie County. They arrived and found Kerry Summer Angel, 24, of Dunlap, fatally stabbed with a four-to-five-inch-deep wound in her back left shoulder, according to Hitchcock.
The incident occurred at the home of a third party, who is in his 40s. He is under investigation, according to Hitchcock.
An eyewitness said it appears that Angel and Land were arguing over pills -- Xanax and hydrocodone -- and all parties were intoxicated, Hitchcock said.
Land initially fled, but later was caught by deputies in a wooded area near the crime scene. He is being held at the Sequatchie County Jail, without bond, charged with criminal homicide.