Jury convicts Morristown man in Grainger County double homicide
Sentencing was Friday after guilty verdict on murder, corpse abuse charges
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GRAINGER CO., Tenn. — A jury found Aaron White guilty Thursday afternoon on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse.
The jury returned to court Friday morning for sentencing where White was sentenced to to two life sentences with out the possibility of parole.
Aaron White, a Morristown man, was accused of killing 49-year-old Jon Atkins and 32-year-old Deven McDaniel. Investigators said the bodies were discovered along Rocky Springs Road in Bean Station on May 25, 2024.
White was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse by a Grainger County grand jury on Aug. 28.
An affidavit charging White with criminal homicide had outlined the evidence investigators said tied him to the killings. According to the affidavit, Grainger County Sheriff’s Office Detective Captain Leon Spoone and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Brandon Elkins found a bank receipt with White’s account number near where the bodies were discovered.
A phone White was known to use also pinged a tower less than a mile from the scene, according to Spoone.
The affidavit stated Atkins’ and McDaniel’s bodies were “dismembered” and said White had access to a home where more evidence of the killings was found.
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