SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — Two people were charged this week with the January 2023 murder of a Sevier County man, according to a release from the Sevier County Sheriff's Office on Friday.
A Sevier County Grand Jury indicted Rhonda L. Zimmerman, 40, and Phillip P. Bishop, 43, were arrested for second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The Sevier County Sheriff's Office said the two are a couple from Hamblen County.
Investigators said they responded to a home on East Parkway on Jan. 10, 2023, and found someone dead. An autopsy confirmed it was Joe Westmoreland, 62, and the death was ruled a homicide.
On Wednesday, March 27, the Morristown Police Department and Sevier County detectives found and arrested Zimmerman. The next day, the McMinn County Sheriff's Office found and arrested Bishop. The two were behind bars at the Sevier County Jail Friday night, according to the release.
According to jail records, Bishop's bond is set at $1 million and Zimmerman's is set at $500,000. They are both awaiting arraignment in Sevier County Circuit Court, according to the release.