The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has charged an inmate with first-degree murder in a 1986 cold case in Lexington, Tenn.
John Edward Miller, 47, who is incarcerated in the Morgan County Correctional Complex in Wartburg, Tenn., on unrelated charges, was served Monday with warrants for first-degree murder and first-degree murder in perpetration of kidnapping, according to a news release from the TBI.
On March 14, 1986, 32-year-old Betty Carol Thomas, of Lexington, Tenn., received a phone call at her home from an unidentified male who asked to meet her at Waugh’s Pizza in Lexington, the release states. Family members said she left her home at 11:45 a.m. and was never seen or heard from again. Her 1971 Ford LTD was found abandoned at the pizza restaurant.
Three days later, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department and the Lexington Police Department launched an investigation into Thomas’ disappearance.
In late December of 1986 hunters found skeletal remains in the Pine Lake state recreational area south of Lexington that were identified as those of Thomas, according to the release. The medical examiner found she died as a result of her throat being cut.