Joseph Maxwell Carter, 35, was shot and killed on the evening of September 13, 2021, while seated in his van in the driveway of his Crane Way home in the Del Rio community of Cocke County, Tennessee. His wife called 911 shortly after 5:30 p.m.; deputies found Carter unresponsive in the driver’s seat. Three children were inside or around the vehicle—two older girls who ran from the van and a 10-month-old who remained secured in a car seat until deputies removed the infant. None of the children were physically injured.

Investigators quickly focused on a neighbor, James Dennard Raspberry, after reports of a long-running dispute between the households. Deputies’ initial report described finding Raspberry partially concealed in the woods and standing behind a tree before he was taken into custody. A grand jury later indicted Raspberry on first-degree murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and multiple counts of false imprisonment related to the children present. He pleaded not guilty and, after a nine-day trial in early March 2025, a Cocke County jury returned not-guilty verdicts on the murder charges, leaving the killing without a conviction.

Are there neighbors or others who remember the dispute between the houses or who saw the driveway that afternoon who can add details?