Sunday stabbing in Jackson County, Ala., leaves one man dead, another jailed

Hank Blizzard
Hank Blizzard

A 20-year-old Jackson County, Ala., man was bleeding from a stab wound to his neck when he pulled into the driveway of a home on Sunday on County Road 107 north of Scottsboro.

Authorities say 18-year-old Hank Thomas Blizzard, of County Road 107, now is charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of 20-year-old Timothy Daniel Mullican, of Hytop, in an incident authorities believe happened at the entrance to a rock quarry between the tiny towns of Hytop and Skyline in the north end of the county.

After he was stabbed in the neck, Mullican fled in his car to the County Road 107 home 200-300 yards from the quarry entrance, Jackson County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen said Tuesday.

"He'd pulled up in a driveway and was obviously in distress and needing help," Harnen said.

photo Hank Thomas Blizzard

That's where a 911 call was made to authorities.

After deputies found Mullican had been stabbed, "we determined that we had other areas of concern," Harnen said. Mullican was pronounced dead at Highlands Medical Center in Scottsboro.

Investigators say there were three crime scenes; one where Mullican was found, another where the stabbing occurred at the quarry entrance and a third where Blizzard was taken into custody and a suspected murder weapon was found in Blizzard's car.

Authorities said the car was found in a wooded area nearby. The weapon seized was described by investigators only as a knife.

All three scenes were "within a couple of miles of each other," Harnen said.

The area where the investigation is focused lies about 10 miles south of the Tennessee border.

Investigators are working to determine whether anyone besides than the suspect and victim were at the scene of the stabbing, the chief deputy said.

Authorities are not speaking to a possible motive for the slaying, but Mullican and Blizzard "knew each other, but not really well," Harnen said.

An autopsy was performed Monday but investigators are still waiting on preliminary results.

Meanwhile, Blizzard remains in the Jackson County Jail on $500,000 bond.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.

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