In the winter of 2022, a vacation to a rental cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Sevierville, Tennessee, ended in tragedy for a young woman from Charlotte, North Carolina. Twenty-eight-year-old Tatina J. Buddington, a Black female, was found deceased inside the cabin on Smoky Ridge Way on the morning of January 10th. An autopsy would later confirm that she had sustained a fatal gunshot wound. The serene mountain setting became the backdrop for a grim discovery that would unravel a story of violence.
Sevier County authorities were dispatched to the rental property around 8:30 a.m. following a 911 call reporting a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered Ms. Buddington's body inside the cabin. Outside, they found her 26-year-old boyfriend, Daekwon K. Dodd, also from Charlotte, on the ground below a third-story balcony. It appeared he had jumped from the balcony, sustaining serious injuries in the fall. Dodd was transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville for treatment.
The investigation into Tatina Buddington's death was a collaborative effort between the Sevier County Sheriff's Office detectives and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. As investigators pieced together the events that transpired in the cabin, suspicion fell upon Daekwon Dodd. After his release from the hospital, the evidence gathered was presented to a Sevier County Grand Jury.
On March 9, 2022, the grand jury returned an indictment against Daekwon K. Dodd, charging him with second-degree murder and aggravated assault resulting in death. He was apprehended in Charlotte, North Carolina, by the U.S. Marshals Service. Following his arrest, Dodd was held at the Mecklenburg County Jail, awaiting extradition back to Tennessee to face the charges related to the death of his girlfriend, Tatina J. Buddington.
