In a quiet field near his home on Copeland Drive in the Powell community of North Knox County, 41-year-old Anthony Mitchell's life was tragically cut short on Saturday, August 16, 2014. He was found shot to death, a violent end to a life that had brought him from Wyoming to Tennessee, where he had lived for 11 years.
The circumstances of his death led to the swift arrest of his housemate, 35-year-old Jason Saffles.
The Knox County Sheriff's Office charged Saffles with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting. Both men resided at the same Copeland Drive address, making the violent act a domestic tragedy.
Following his arrest, Saffles was held at the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility on a $500,000 bond. At the time of the incident, it was reported that Saffles had no prior criminal history in Knox County. Conversely, Mitchell had a previous arrest in 2010 for assault, although that charge was later dismissed in court. The motive and the events leading up to the fatal shooting in the field were central to the investigation that followed.
