Michael Lee Joyner, a 40-year-old male, passed away on Saturday, December 15, 2018, in Decatur, Tennessee. A United States Army Veteran who had served in Afghanistan, he had spent most of his life in the Chattanooga and North Georgia area. He was employed at Government Surplus in Decatur and was known for his love of fishing and being in the woods. He was described as a loving and devoted son, husband, and father.
On the day of his death, authorities were called to his home on Warren Lane in Decatur. An investigation into the circumstances of his death was launched by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Meigs County Sheriff's Department, and the 9th Judicial District Attorney General's Office. An autopsy later determined that Michael Lee Joyner died as a result of a stab wound.
The investigation led authorities to identify an acquaintance of Joyner, Randall Dewey Burnette, Jr., as the individual responsible for his death. On the following Tuesday, law enforcement officers arrested Burnette and charged him with one count of Second Degree Murder. He was subsequently booked into the Meigs County Jail on a $5,000,000 bond.
