On Dec. 22, 1994, James Harris, 54, was found dead in the driveway of his Chickamauga home. He had been struck in the back of the head and then strangled to death in what law enforcement officials suspected to be a robbery.
Few leads emerged in the case at the time, but last week, a Walker County jury found Robert Allen Mowry, a resident of Tullahoma, Tennessee, guilty of murdering Harris.
The conviction was the first for the Cold Case Unit of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, according to a news release from the office, and closure for the Harris family. The circuit includes Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade and Walker counties.
The cold case unit was established in 2021, according to the release.
District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller said for 28 Christmases, Harris’ family has carried the pain of not knowing the truth, but there will not be a 29th.
“Years may pass and a violent criminal may go on living their life thinking they got away with murder,” Fuller said in the release. “But we never forget. And in this office, our duty to our victims and their families will never end.”
Mowry, 53, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Don W. Thompson to serve the remainder of his life in prison, the release said.
Fuller did not respond to an email requesting further comment.
There were signs of a struggle at the crime scene, the release said. Harris’ pockets had been emptied and his boots and belt removed. A large amount of blood was found, but the forensic analysis capabilities of the state crime lab were limited at the time.
The Walker County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation had few other leads in the case to pursue, the release said.
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In 2005, the GBI crime lab was asked to reanalyze blood stains on Harris’ jeans and a bloody tissue near his body, the release said. A DNA analysis found both samples were from a single individual who was not Harris.
Law enforcement contacted several individuals to compare their DNA against the sample from the crime scene, but the release said no matches were found.
In 2009, a tip by phone identified a person named Allen as a suspect in Harris’ murder, the release said.
Law enforcement identified a co-worker of Harris’ at Ooltewah’s Miller Industries with the middle name of Allen. Further investigation found Mowry was late for work on the day of Harris’ murder and was seen with a black eye in the days after the murder.
In spring of 2018, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent contacted Mowry, who said he had already spoken with law enforcement, the release said. Law enforcement found that statement to be false.
After more suspicious behavior and a refusal to submit a DNA sample, Georgia and Tennessee law enforcement officers set up surveillance to obtain a sample from Mowry. He was seen smoking outside his home, leading to law enforcement’s recovery of a cigarette butt in Mowry’s garbage can after he set it on the street for collection.
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Mowry’s DNA matched the blood samples found at the crime scene, the release said.
He was charged with felony murder in 2020, according to previous reporting from the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and was convicted Wednesday after a seven-day trial.
Fuller offered a message to families still looking for justice in the death of their loved ones after many years and those who think they’ve gotten away with murder.
“There are too many families in this circuit without answers — but we will continue to pursue justice on their behalf,” he said. “But we never forget. And in this office, our search for the truth will never end.”
— Compiled by Andrew WIlkins
Clayton M. Fuller, district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit