Roy HendersonThe third and final defendant accused of murder in the 2015 beatdown of a 51-year-old Soddy-Daisy man pleaded guilty Monday to a reduced charge.
Roy Henderson, 28, said he was guilty of facilitation of first-degree murder, a Class A felony that carries 15 years in this case, in connection with Tony Rector’s Dec. 28, 2015, slaying. Because he has no other criminal history, Henderson will be eligible for parole after serving 30 percent of his sentence. He will receive credit for the 20-21 months he has spent in jail.
Prosecutors said Henderson, Dekota Burchard and Chad Massengale participated in the beating of Rector, a 51-year-old caretaker at 10965 Dallas Hollow Road who struggled with methamphetamine addiction and who upset his next-door neighbors in the months leading up to his death.
On the day in question, with a handful of people present, Rector comforted Burchard’s girlfriend during an argument, and an angry Burchard called his friend, Massengale, to come over and deal with the situation. Prosecutors said Massengale is associated with the Aryan Nation and previously argued that he didn’t like Rector stepping on his drug trade or women.
Massengale got brothers Roy and Nicholas Henderson to drive him to the home, prosecutors said. When Rector refused to leave, witnesses said Burchard and Massengale began to beat him up. Massengale moved the fight indoors, where Rector was beaten about 20 times with a tire iron, prosecutors said.