CLAIBORNE COUNTY, Tenn. — The third suspect in a 2021 murder pleaded guilty on Friday to participating in the murder and disappearance of Aaron Jeremiah Massengill.
Jimmt Lee Riffe, 36, appeared in court before Judge Zachary Walden on Friday and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. He was one of three people arrested in April 2021 after investigators found Massengill's body along Ferguson Ridge Road in Tazewell in Feb. 2021.
Massengill disappeared on the night of Feb. 16, 2021, in his pickup truck, according to court documents. The investigation into his disappearance spanned several counties in East Tennessee, including Sullivan County. The investigation also reached into Middlesboro, Ky.
It was determined Massengill died due to a gunshot wound, and during the course of the hearings, prosecutors said another suspect lured Massengill to a home so she could have him drive her to a restaurant.
Instead, he was confronted by two other suspects as well as the person who lured him to the home, who then tried to steal his truck, money and personal items. Massengill briefly fought with Riffe and another suspect, according to prosecutors, before he was hit twice in the hit with an object. One of the suspects then shot Massengill, according to the hearings.
Courtney Gilpin, another suspect, pleaded guilty in August 2022 and received a 50-year prison sentence. Patrick Smith, the other suspect in the murder, also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 45-year prison sentence.
Riffe also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.
District Attorney General Jared Effler said Massengill's family was in agreement with the decision.