TAZEWELL, Tenn. - Four people are charged in East Tennessee in the death of a 56-year-old man died who was robbed and beaten.
Claiborne County Sheriff David Ray told the Knoxville News Sentinel that Hershel Gulley was lured from his home in the Clairfield community to an old church site across the state line into Kentucky.
Ray says there was a conspiracy to rob the man and that one of the alleged conspirators tried to cover up the robbery by claiming Gulley raped her. The sheriff says the woman's uncle was apparently unaware of the robbery and sought revenge against Gulley.
Gulley's body was found early Friday.
Charged with criminal homicide are 50-year-old Tommy Lynn Hurst, 26-year-old Vanessa Anne Hurst and 28-year-old Kayla Jane Partin. Partin's brother, 26-year-old Brandon James Partin, is charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, along with his sister and Vanessa Hurst.