Testimony resumed Thursday morning in a Grainger County courtroom as the murder trial of Aaron White entered its third day, with forensic witnesses walking jurors through DNA analysis, firearm evidence and crime scene findings tied to the deaths of two Bean Station men. White faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse in connection with the deaths of Jon Atkins, 49, and Deven McDaniel, 32.
Opening statements in the case began Tuesday, according to WBIR, with prosecutors alleging that White drove to Bean Station armed, waited in the woods and shot the two men as they passed him. Prosecutors told jurors White then attempted to bury the bodies before leaving to retrieve an ax and returning to dismember them, and that he made multiple trips back to the property over the following month to clean up the scene. The defense has acknowledged White gave police a full account of what happened but has asked the jury to focus instead on why he was on the property in the first place, with defense counsel framing the case as a question of why the crime happened rather than what happened.
How the Bodies Were Found
Atkins and McDaniel went unaccounted for after May 23, 2024, and were later discovered along Rocky Springs Road on property belonging to a man who had recently died, with White identified as the property owner's second cousin. Testimony has established that Stephanie King, who was in a relationship with Atkins and lived with both men, had a sister, Kelly King, who along with her fiancé searched the surrounding woods and found brush piles, a shovel, clothes, a tarp and a trash bag containing what appeared to be human remains. Kelly King testified she recognized a tattoo on one of the remains and immediately left to report the discovery to police, a sequence of events confirmed by WBIR's coverage of the trial.
Gina Harris, identified as the first cousin of the man who owned the vacant cabin on the property, testified that she did not know of any relationship between her cousin and White. Capt. Detective Leon Spoone of the Grainger County Sheriff's Department, who led the scene investigation, identified a range of items recovered there, including a cane he believed belonged to Atkins, an earring he believed belonged to McDaniel, a necklace holding McDaniel's mother's class ring, a receipt linked to White, a bayonet and sheath, and a ski mask. Spoone testified that processing the scene took more than 26 hours, and he returned to the stand again Wednesday to discuss additional evidence collected that day, including a green bow saw, an ax and pieces of a gun. Some of that evidence, according to the trial testimony, was located using directions White gave after his arrest, which came after he was found hiding beneath a mattress in a Morristown home.
Forensic Testimony Links Evidence to the Scene and White's Home
Investigators had previously recovered unused zip ties, spent shell casings and tire impressions leading to a vacant cabin, along with a bank receipt bearing White's name found at the crime scene, per the earlier WBIR report. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Grainger County Sheriff's Office began investigating the case on May 25, 2024, at the request of 4th Judicial District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which noted that agents initially obtained warrants charging White with two counts of criminal homicide. A phone known to be used by White connected to a cell tower less than one mile from the killing scene, according to a report from WJHL.
On the stand Thursday, Andrew Vallee, who has worked with both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, explained how cell signal tracking placed White's phone near the property, while Savannah Houk of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation detailed firearms and ammunition analysis showing that shell casings recovered from White's home had been fired from the same weapon as casings found at the crime scene. Tatiana Cochrane, also with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, explained DNA analysis of evidence collected from the crime scene, White's home and his black pickup truck, testifying that evidence showed the presence of Atkins' and McDaniel's blood, and that some items contained White's DNA. Dr. Christopher Lockmuller of the Knox County Regional Forensic Center described the autopsies performed on both Atkins and McDaniel.
Trial Testimony Continues
Prosecutors called three witnesses on the first day of trial and four additional witnesses on the second day, building toward the forensic testimony presented Thursday. Prosecutors have also said they plan to play White's recorded police statement later in the trial, in which he reportedly admitted to shooting Atkins and McDaniel. Testimony was expected to continue Thursday morning in the Grainger County courtroom.
