Willard Clifton Land
The man charged in Sequatchie County, Tenn., with first-degree murder in the October 2014 steak-knife slaying of a 24-year-old Dunlap woman was found guilty today of the lesser charge of second-degree murder.
A jury of seven men and five women reached the verdict after two hours of deliberation.
Willard Clifton “Bill” Land, 74, will face a sentencing hearing later in the killing of Kerry Summer Angel at the Cagle Mountain home of Bobby Kendall on Oct. 11, 2014.
Land’s trial began on Wednesday and the accused man took the stand himself on Thursday to testify that the stabbing was self-defense and that Angel “came at me” with a knife of her own.
Six other defense witnesses testified today, some describing violent or argumentative behavior on the part of the victim in their testimony.
State witnesses on Wednesday testified about Land’s actions after the stabbing, including Kendall’s description of the stabbing that happened in his kitchen as he sat a few feet away in the living room.
An investigator testified on Wednesday that, after he was taken into custody, Land remarked “I stabbed the b — but I didn’t mean to kill her.”
Land was promptly taken from the courtroom and returned to his cell after the verdict was read.
For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.