The murder trial of Jordan Allen is underway in Greene County Criminal Court, where the now 18-year-old is accused of killing his seven-year-old brother and their grandmother at a Chuckey home in April 2022. Allen was 16 at the time of the deaths and faces two counts of first-degree murder.
Jurors spent Tuesday looking at some of the central physical evidence in the case, including a hammer, a pair of boots, and bloodstained material that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation had DNA-tested, according to WVLT. The judge has told jurors to plan on at least a week in court, with testimony scheduled to resume Wednesday at 9 a.m., the station reported.
Scene and early investigation
State agents and Greene County deputies responded to the 7100 block of Old Snapps Ferry Road in Chuckey after the bodies of 59-year-old Sherry Cole and her grandson, Jessie Allen, were found in April 2022, according to a press release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Court filings and contemporaneous reporting described "puddles of blood" at the scene and said a juvenile suspect admitted to striking the victims with a hammer, according to Law&Crime.
Pretrial motions and schedule
Allen was a juvenile when prosecutors first charged him and sought to move the case to adult court, and the matter was delayed several times for motions and DNA review, local reporting shows. Defense attorneys filed motions to limit the most graphic crime scene photographs and pushed for additional DNA records from the TBI, according to WJHL. Earlier continuances and renewed evidentiary filings repeatedly reset the trial date over the past two years, including a prior postponement noted by WGRV.
Legal stakes
First-degree murder in Tennessee can bring the state's harshest punishments, including life with or without the possibility of parole and, in capital-eligible cases, death, under state statute, according to Justia. Because Allen was 16 at the time of the alleged killings, he is not eligible for the death penalty, and prosecutors have said they could still seek life behind bars, according to Law&Crime.
The jury is scheduled to reconvene on Wednesday at 9 a.m., and the judge has indicated that proceedings could continue through the week, according to WVLT. Testimony from witnesses and forensic experts will determine whether prosecutors can meet the burden of proving the elements required for first-degree murder.
