SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — The deaths of a father and daughter on Christmas Eve have been ruled homicides, according to autopsy reports from the Knox County Regional Forensic Center.
Deputy Chief Jeff McCarter with the Sevier County Sheriff's office said the SCSO and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents are still investigating the case. So far, no suspects have been identified.
The SCSO said Sevier County 911 received a call at 9:30 p.m. on December 24, 2021, about a shooting at the 800 block of Asheville Highway near Strawberry Plains.
When officers arrived at the home, they found the bodies of a man and a woman who had been shot.
The victims were identified as Edward W. Atkins, 70, and Melissa J. Burgess-Smith, 43. They were father and daughter and lived in the home together.
An autopsy report from the Knox County Regional Forensic Center said Atkins was shot a single time. The bullet entered his left cheek and exited the right side of the neck.
Burgess-Smith was shot two times -- once in the mid-back and once in the left buttock -- according to an autopsy report.
Atkins had a small amount of alcohol in his system at the time of his death, an autopsy report said.
Burgess-Smith had methamphetamine in her system as well as norbuprenorphine, amphetamine, and buprenorphine, according to an autopsy report. The report said buprenorphine is only available in the U.S. in a prescribed formulation to treat opioid addiction that also contains the overdose reversal drug naloxone. The report said buprenorphine is metabolized into norbuprenorphine in the liver.
According to the autopsy report, both were last known to be alive around 4:30 p.m. that day. The report said Jeffery Atkins, the man's brother, had talked to them on the phone at that time.
According to the death summary in the report, no weapon was found at the scene. Two spent cartridges were found near the woman's body, and another was found outside on the porch.
After the shooting, one neighbor said they didn't hear any gunshots; however, they did see police around the property later in the evening.
Police took memory cards from that neighbor's surveillance cameras, but SCSO said no suspect was found in the footage.
Jeffery Atkins said at the time he thinks the killings of his brother and niece could be drug-related.