In the quiet town of Dandridge, Tennessee, the life of 50-year-old Rusty LeRoy Bybee, a White/Caucasian male, came to a tragic and violent end in April of 2021. Concerns for his well-being first arose when he failed to appear for his job for several days. This uncharacteristic absence prompted his employer to file a missing person report, setting in motion an investigation that would uncover a grim reality.
Law enforcement officers from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the White Pine Police Department began their search at Bybee's residence on Breezie Point Lane. After obtaining permission from his family to search the property, their investigation led them to a shed. Inside, they made the harrowing discovery of Rusty Bybee's body. It was later determined that he had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation quickly focused on a primary suspect: Rusty's wife, 47-year-old Julie Ann Pope-Bybee. Shortly after her husband's body was found, she was taken into custody at their home. According to the arrest warrant, Pope-Bybee admitted to authorities that she had shot her husband multiple times.
Following her confession, Julie Ann Pope-Bybee was charged with first-degree murder. She was subsequently booked into the Jefferson County Detention Center, where she was held on a $1 million bond. The 4th District Attorney General's Office joined the local law enforcement agencies in handling the tragic case that cut short the life of a man remembered as a loving father and a doting grandfather.
