On an autumn day in 2016, the life of 44-year-old Ellis Ray Hamby Jr. came to a violent end. He was found deceased from multiple gunshot wounds on October 28, 2016, inside the Leslie Drive residence he shared with his girlfriend, Tonya Baughman, in the Oakdale community of Morgan County, Tennessee. The initial investigation into his death was conducted by the Morgan County Sheriff's Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
The investigation quickly focused on Baughman as the
person responsible for Hamby's death. She was arrested and initially charged with voluntary manslaughter. However, in September 2017, a Morgan County Grand Jury returned an indictment for the more serious charge of first-degree murder. The case experienced significant delays in proceeding to trial, attributed in part to changes in Baughman's legal representation.
After a three-day trial in February 2024, a jury of six men and six women deliberated for nearly nine hours before reaching a verdict. The prosecution had argued that Baughman had premeditated the shooting, striking Hamby with four shotgun blasts to the torso, any of which would have been fatal. They further contended that she had staged the scene to suggest self-defense by placing a tire tool in the left-handed victim's right hand to make it appear as if he were the aggressor.
After reviewing the 911 call made by Baughman and body camera footage from the crime scene, the jury found Tonya Baughman guilty of the lesser-included offense of reckless homicide, a Class D felony. Her sentencing was scheduled for June 7, 2024.
