Two North Knoxville shooting and crash cases are now in the hands of a Knox County grand jury, after a December incident that left one woman dead and another seriously wounded. Prosecutors say brothers Jamarcus Murphy, 20, and Jamahus Murphy, 18, were arrested after investigators used surveillance footage to track a vehicle tied to the violence. Sending the cases to the grand jury is the next step on the road toward possible indictments as authorities work to lock in exactly how the chaos unfolded.
According to the Knoxville Police Department, officers responded around 4:45 p.m. on Dec. 5 to reports of gunfire near W. Oldham Avenue and Worth Street and found a vehicle that had tumbled down an embankment with two women inside. One passenger, later identified as Angela Taylor, was unresponsive at the scene and later died. The Regional Forensic Center determined she died from blunt-force trauma caused by the crash. The driver had been shot and was rushed to UT Medical Center with serious injuries.
As reported by WVLT, detectives say surveillance video from the area helped them zero in on a black Honda Accord, which officers later spotted parked at the Kroger on Clinton Highway. Police detained both brothers that evening. After interviews, investigators charged each with attempted first-degree murder, while Jamahus also picked up a weapons charge. Detectives noted that more counts could follow in connection with Taylor’s death.
As detailed by WATE, prosecutors told a judge earlier this month that both related cases have been forwarded to a Knox County grand jury, with the file stacked with surveillance footage and witness statements. Those filings allege Jamahus ran toward the women’s vehicle and opened fire while Jamarcus sat behind the wheel and drove the shooter away, a narrative prosecutors say they plan to lay out in detail for jurors.
How the Grand Jury Will Decide
Per the Knox County District Attorney's Office, a grand jury is a panel of citizens tasked with deciding whether there is probable cause to require a defendant to stand trial. Jurors hear only the state’s evidence, meet in secret, and do not decide guilt or innocence. If they return an indictment, the case moves into Knox County Criminal Court for arraignment and full trial prep.
Court filings and reporting outlined by WATE indicate prosecutors have asked grand jurors to weigh surveillance clips, witness accounts, and broader investigative findings. Those records also show one charge against Jamarcus was reduced to accessory after the fact, and his bond was later dropped from $100,000 to $10,000. Jamahus, meanwhile, still faces an attempted first-degree murder charge along with a firearms count. Prosecutors say he told investigators he could not see who was inside the other vehicle, a detail defense attorneys are almost certain to underline behind closed doors.
What’s Next
If the grand jury issues indictments, the Murphy brothers would be bound over to Knox County Criminal Court, where the case would move to arraignment and a series of pretrial hearings. We first covered the arrests and initial charges in December, when police said they located the suspected getaway car at the Kroger on Clinton Highway and took both men into custody. Authorities are still asking anyone with information or video from the area to contact the Knoxville Police Department.
