Eyewitness to 2015 slaying denies defense claim that she participated in beating

Chad Massengale
Chad Massengale

An eyewitness to a 2015 slaying denied a defense attorney's claim Wednesday that she participated in the killing for which her ex-boyfriend now stands on trial.

Tiffany Sneed said she never hit 51-year-old Tony Rector during a beating inside a home at 10965 Dallas Hollow Road on Dec. 28, 2015. Prosecutors believe Chad Massengale and Roy Henderson drove to Soddy-Daisy that night and attacked Rector after their friend, Dekota Burchard, called and said the caretaker was causing trouble and refused to leave.

After the beating, Massengale stomped on Rector's body after dumping him in the Soddy Presbyterian Cemetery later that night, according to Sneed and a confession Massengale gave to a lead detective.

Massengale's defense attorney, Steven Moore, has already said his client participated in Rector's death but never premeditated anything. On Wednesday, the lawyer turned his sights on Sneed, claiming the former confidential informant for the Soddy-Daisy Police Department knew more than she'd admitted.

For starters, Moore honed in on inconsistent statements he says Sneed gave Det. Ryan Wilkey in January 2016.

He asked Sneed about a witness who allegedly reported to the detective seeing Sneed hit Rector during the beating.

"He just kept asking if I hit him in several different ways," Sneed replied, adding that she never did. "[Wilkey] kept saying, 'I've heard, I've heard.' Well, of course you've heard. There's people saying all kinds of crap."

So far, Sneed's testimony has produced the most back-and-forth between the defense and prosecution in Massengale's trial. If convicted, Massengale faces life in prison. He is the first to go to trial in the case, while Burchard and Henderson's first-degree murder cases remain pending.

Sneed testified Tuesday that she lived next door to 10965 Dallas Hollow Road with some friends, including Burchard. Several people in both homes were frustrated with Rector, a caretaker, over a few incidents leading up to Dec. 28, 2015.

On that night, Sneed said, Burchard and his girlfriend had been fighting. Burchard became angry when Rector comforted the woman, so he called Massengale to come over and kick Rector out of the home.

Massengale, Sneed's on-and-off boyfriend, got Roy Henderson and his younger brother, Nicholas, to drive him, rolling up to the house around 9 or 9:30 p.m., Sneed said.

But accounts vary from there.

Nicholas Henderson, who testified Tuesday for the state, said he stayed in the truck once he got to the Dallas Hollow Road house and thought he saw Massengale hit Rector. He does not face any charges.

Sneed, on the other hand, said Burchard hit Rector in the face, knocking him out. The fight later moved indoors. Once that happened, Sneed said she first ran over to the home next door, but then returned to investigate once she heard screaming.

Sneed testified she saw Roy Henderson holding a four-way tire tool as he stood over Rector, who was on the ground. Sneed said she saw Henderson hit Rector, "I believe in the stomach."

But Moore was unconvinced.

"Did you tell Wilkey that you saw that?" he asked.

"I told that whenever I came into the kitchen [to help an elderly woman leave the house], I saw him holding the tire tool up," Sneed replied.

But was Sneed looking when Henderson hit Rector with the tool, Moore asked.

"No sir, I was more focused on getting [the elderly woman] out," Sneed said.

Sneed's testimony ended after Moore claimed she admitted to participating in the killing on the phone to a friend named Michael James, who is also on the state's witness list. Prosecutors haven't called him yet, but they did ask Wilkey numerous questions about his investigation and played Massengale's recorded confession for jurors in the afternoon.

The trial continues today in judge Don Poole's Hamilton County Criminal Court. Once prosecutors finish presenting their case, defense attorney Moore will have an opportunity to call witnesses and present proof.

Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.

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