Six charged in death of man whose remains were exhumed from Winchester, Tenn., backyard

The TBI is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Cookeville.
The TBI is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Cookeville.

The Franklin County grand jury indicted six people Friday in connection with the homicide of a man who was reportedly last heard from in July 2017.

James Leon Wood, 50, of Winchester, Tenn., was reported missing on Jan. 18 and a search of his home was done on Jan. 25. His remains were found wrapped in a sheet or blanket and buried under a 5-by-8-foot concrete slab, positioned several feet away from an above-ground pool in the home's backyard.

Four people - Glenna Wood, Mikayla Harmon, Grant Poole and Shawn Hampton - have been indicted on charges of first-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit murder and one count of abuse of a corpse, according to a news release issued Sunday by Winchester Police Chief Richard Lewis.

Kisha Anderson and Joseph Newingham have been charged with accessory after the fact.

Glenna Wood, Harmon, Poole, Newingham, and Anderson were located in Thornton, Colo., and arrested Friday afternoon. They were all taken into custody without incident, Lewis said in the release.

Hampton was found in Madison County, Ala., later that night and was also taken into custody without incident.

All suspects must be extradited back to Tennessee to face the charges contained in the indictments.

Lewis said members of the local community were key in providing information to aid the investigation.

The concrete slab used to cover Wood's body had been poured over the grave. The activity of digging the grave, burying the body and pouring the concrete slab over it "apparently didn't attract any of the neighbors' attention," Lewis previously told the Times Free Press.

Wood's white 1988 Ford F150, identified in the missing person report along with his physical description, was impounded in Grundy County "on an unrelated matter," Lewis said.

Tennessee property records showed the property as belonging to the Woods, according to purchaser information in state records. The property purchase was made in June 2017, one month before Wood was last reportedly last seen.

Lewis said Wood's body had been buried for "probably about five months."

Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.

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