Michael William Tyler Womack, 20, of Athens, Tennessee, was found dead from a gunshot wound on July 4, 2014, at a neighbor’s property where he had gone to do a good deed. His grandmother, Vicki Womack, discovered him; investigators with the McMinn County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation treated the death as a homicide tied to a burglary.

Authorities arrested three people within weeks: Thomas Paul Odum, 48, Martha A. Thompson, 42, and Amanda L. Britnell, 34. Reports say the three admitted involvement and that they had been burglarizing an outbuilding when Womack arrived unexpectedly. It is reported Odum shot Womack because he feared being identified, and the group fled, leaving Womack behind.

Odum was later convicted by a jury of felony murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, aggravated burglary, theft of property, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and received life without parole. The case devastated Womack’s family and the Athens community. Did anyone in the area see or hear anything about activity at that outbuilding on July 4, 2014?