Standing in the same courtroom, facing the same charges, Tony Bigoms once again pleaded not guilty today to murdering Dana Wilkes in 2012 and sawing off her hands and head.
Bigoms, 58, will next appear Nov. 1 in Hamilton County Criminal Court. He remains in custody on a $250,000 bond.
Bigoms was convicted of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse after a trial in 2014. But the Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals reversed his judgment in June, citing issues with jury sequestration and the local judge’s decision to allow testimony about a different 2006 murder for which Bigoms was acquitted.
That means Bigoms, who was already serving a life sentence, has the right to a new trial here.
Specifically, the appeals court sided with Bigoms’ public defenders on two points: Jury sequestration and admitting evidence of a prior bad act.