An Athens man has been charged with second-degree murder following a deadly church fire that culminated in a grim discovery earlier this month. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) arrested 36-year-old Kyle Hickox after investigative work led them to conclude his involvement in the death of 69-year-old Linda Buchanan and the subsequent fire at St. Mark AME Zion Church, as detailed by WVLT.
The TBI began to unravel the unsettling sequence of events that unfurled on Aug. 15. Charged on Friday, Hickox was booked into the McMinn County Jail, his bond set at a steep $600,000. The aftermath of the blaze revealed a scene that disturbed the community's peace, with Buchanan being found dead inside the church by the authorities, who expressed that an autopsy confirmed she died before the flames began, as WATE reported.
The in-depth investigation was a combined effort, drawing on the expertise of special agents certified in fire and explosives investigations and the local efforts of the Athens Police Department. They collected evidence indicating that Hickox was allegedly responsible not only for Buchanan's death but also for the fire that swept through the historic church located on the 700 block of North Jackson Street, according to information provided by WBIR.
