KNOXVILLE, Tenn — Knoxville police are asking for tips from the public months after finding a Detroit man's body inside an East Knoxville home that caught fire.
KPD continues to investigate the death of 47-year-old Donald DeShazo, who officers found dead in a home at 2418 Wilson Avenue on the night of Friday, January 21 after Knoxville Fire Department firefighters responded to a house fire.
KPD said the case began two days before the fire on January 19, when officers responded to a nearby home at the 2400 block of Selma Avenue to investigate a possible stabbing. Police said they learned a woman had been stabbed and sexually assaulted at an unknown location, saying she was with DeShazo when the two went to the location to purchase marijuana.
Police said DeShazo went into the house while the victim stayed in the car. She told police she received several calls from DeShazo's phone and went inside the home, where a man wearing a mask pointed a gun at her head.
She said she saw another man in the home. One suspect took her into a bathroom, stabbed her and sexually assaulted her, KPD said. The woman said she later heard the two suspects arguing with DeShazo, and said she used that as an opportunity to escape.
KPD said the woman was unfamiliar with the area and due to her injuries was unable to tell officers who responded where the stabbing had occurred. The victim was taken to UT Medical Center for treatment and was unable to talk with officers again for several days.
On January 21 around 8:50 p.m., KFD responded to a house fire at 2418 Wilson Avenue, where they found DeShazo's body. KPD ruled the death a homicide, and investigators said the fire was intentionally set to destroy evidence.
KPD said it has been unable to identify either suspect.
Investigators said DeShazo had been involved in drug trafficking and was originally from Detroit, Michigan. DeShazo had formerly faced prosecution in federal court in Detroit on drug and weapons-related charges, but court records show a U.S. Magistrate Judge dismissed the case in November 2021 after the government motioned to have the complaint dropped.
Anyone with information about DeShazo's murder is asked to call the East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers is available 24/7 by phone at 865-215-7165, online at www.easttnvalleycrimestoppers.org or via the P3 Tips mobile app. Tipsters will remain anonymous and be eligible to receive a cash reward.