In the early hours of a Wednesday morning in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, a fatal encounter unfolded inside an apartment at the Kings Crossing Apartments on East Northfield Boulevard. On July 22, 2015, police responded to a call about a shooting at the residence of 59-year-old Dewey Abbott III. Inside, they found 40-year-old Jesse Sliepenbeek, a male resident of Lascassas, suffering from a gunshot wound.
Emergency services transported Sliepenbeek to Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. He would have celebrated his 41st birthday the following week.
Following an investigation at the scene and interviews, detectives arrested Dewey Abbott III in connection with the shooting. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and booked at the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, where he was held without bond. The shooting occurred within Abbott's own apartment.
Dewey Abbott III later stood trial for the killing of Jesse Sliepenbeek. Although he was initially indicted on a charge of first-degree murder, a jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder on December 9, 2016. During the trial, Abbott did not deny shooting Sliepenbeek but claimed he acted in self-defense. The court sentenced him to serve 15 years in prison for the crime.
In the years following his conviction, Abbott sought to have his conviction overturned. In 2017, he filed an appeal for post-conviction relief, arguing that he had received ineffective legal counsel. His appeal contended that his defense team failed to present witnesses who could have supported his self-defense claim and did not introduce evidence of an attempted 911 call he allegedly made before the shooting. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals denied his appeal in May 2021, and the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld this decision in June 2022, ensuring that Abbott would continue to serve his sentence. His projected release date is April 21, 2028, at which time he will be 72 years old.
