A Knoxville neighborhood is grappling with a sense of shock and the blunt reality of violence after a man was charged with voluntary manslaughter. The Knoxville Police Department reported that 51-year-old Fernando Carerra was arrested following a deadly assault that left 57-year-old James Phipps dead.
Standing quietly, the rear parking lot of 211 W. Young High Pike became a crime scene, where, on the morning of September 27, officers found Phipps unresponsive. Suffering from blunt force injuries, he was transported to the UT Medical Center and could not be saved; he was later pronounced dead. Alerted by a helpful witness, authorities soon located Carerra, the man alleged to be at the center of the fatal altercation.
The details surrounding the tragic event are not entirely clear. But what's known is that Carerra and Phipps had a shared history marred by disputes that may have boiled over into physical violence. Knoxville Police mentioned through a continued investigation that the two were "known to one another and got into a physical altercation, possibly due to a prior dispute."
Found on Chapman Highway with the assistance of Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies, the suspect was detained and brought in for questioning.
