John Howard Lott, known to friends as Big John, was found dead on the front porch of his James Avenue home in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the early morning of July 15, 2015. A neighbor discovered him unresponsive in the doorway and called police at about 7:18 a.m. Officers determined Lott, 26, had sustained at least one gunshot wound and that the shooting likely occurred during the night; investigators treated him as the apparent intended target.

Detectives interviewed witnesses and processed evidence at the residence in the days after the discovery, but no immediate arrests were announced and public updates grew scarce. Lott’s obituary lists his parents, Lorrina Bitsy Gibson and Walter Lott, and a sister, Shirley Bowman. The family continues to have unanswered questions about who was responsible and why.

Did anyone in the Knoxville area have information about Lott’s activities or contacts in the days before July 15, 2015?