David Richard Howard IV, 28, of Corryton, Tennessee, was found shot and pronounced dead on the morning of December 1, 2021, on the 5900 block of Jones Road in North Knox County. Deputies and Major Crimes detectives responded about 7:25 a.m.; authorities said early in the investigation they had no reason to believe the shooting was random.

Howard’s family included his daughter Hayden, father David Richard Rick Howard III, mother and stepfather Lissie and Bruce Welch, siblings Amber, Aaron and Jonathon, and his grandfather Roland Lane. A celebration of his life was held December 6, with burial at Roseberry Cemetery in Mascot on December 7.

The homicide investigation produced rapid arrests. On December 4, 2021, Jessica Leann Hamlet and Joseph Adam Sparks were charged with first-degree murder in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of another crime. Other arrests tied to the probe involved drug and weapons charges, and months later Jason Flenniken was indicted on a felony-murder charge alleging Howard was killed during an attempted burglary.

Did anyone in the Jones Road area in late 2021 see or hear anything that might help clarify what happened that morning?