KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knox County prosecutors want to put Desmon P. Rhea away for life if he's convicted for murdering three women in March 2020.
The 25-year-old Knoxvillian has been held in jail since the killings of Mildred Blackwell, her daughter, Juliana White, and Barbara Rogers.
The notice filed by Charme Allen's office shows she is not seeking the death penalty. Instead, if he's convicted, prosecutors will try to convince the jury that he should go to prison with no chance for parole.
They argue he committed mass murder and that the killings were heinous, atrocious and cruel.
Rogers, 57, and 55-year-old Mildred Blackwell shared a home on Trousdale Road in West Knoxville, according to authorities. Records suggest Rhea sometimes used that as an address as well as a nearby residence.
White was 29.
The victims were shot to death. The older women were found in the house; White's body was found in the area of Division and Liberty streets.
Rhea has been held in the Knox County jail more than a year.
His next court appearance is in July before Knox County Criminal Court Judge Scott Green. Trial is set for October.
Attorneys Wade Davies and Stephen Ross Johnson represent him. They've filed several motions on his behalf including one to suppress things he said to Knoxville Police Department investigators after he was detained March 8.
Family members had warned the police that Rhea used meth and likely was on drugs at the time, according to their motion. Rhea also repeatedly asked for his attorney, they argue. He also told officers he was having trouble breathing.
The "custodial interrogation" lasted near three hours.
Rhea also told them he hoped they weren't "the cartel," records state.
"Please be officers, please be, where is the police? The real...We did not deserve this (expletive)," they say Rhea told KPD during the interview.
