(WBIR - MAYNARDVILLE) The Union County man accused of killing his neighbor after a months-long feud told state authorities it all started with a proposed gun sale.
Kevin Waggoner, in statements to the TBI after the August 2013 shooting, said neighbor Michael Woodby wanted to buy a gun from him, but Woodby was a felon, which barred him from gun ownership.
TBI Special Agent Andy Corbitt testified Wednesday that Waggoner told him when he refused to sell the gun, they began a fight that only escalated with the passage of time.
Waggoner told authorities that Woodby would threaten him and his family over several years – and he was frustrated. Waggoner, Corbitt said, recalled that Woodby "made comments to my son, 'I am going to blow your ..... brains out."
Videos leave little question the relationship between Waggoner and Woodby was tense. Tapes made by Waggoner show Woodby yelling at Waggoner – calling him a pedophile.
Waggoner mailed similar videos to WBIR and other news outlets before the shooting.
Also testifying Wednesday were police investigators, who described for jurors the crime scene the night of the shooting. Waggoner shot and killed Woodby outside, not far from Woodby's house.
Waggoner's lawyer has told jurors his client acted in self defense.
A wooden stick was found near the body. Waggoner told authorities that Woodby had hit his adult son with it before he shot and killed him.
Corbitt said Waggoner told him Woodby had followed him and his son down the road – holding a large stick.
Waggoner said Woodby swung at his son, hitting him in the neck
According to a statement from Waggoner, "I kept telling Michael to go away but he did not comply with those orders. I had my Glock 19 9mm on my person (under my shirt in a holster) and I then had no choice but to defend myself and my son."
Investigators testified they weren't completely convinced of Waggoner's story. Shell casings were found on the wrong side of the road after the shooting – it's one of the reasons they arrested Waggoner
As investigators showed photos of the crime scene to the jury, Woodby's family wept.
Testimony continues Thursday.
PREVIOUS STORY: (WBIR – MAYNARDVILLE) The trial of a former Knox County school security officer charged with killing his neighbor started Wednesday morning.
Kevin Lee Waggoner is charged with second-degree murder in the 2013 death of Michael Adam Woodby.
Woodby was shot and killed during a dispute between the two men and Waggoner's son near their homes in Union County. Investigators said there had been a long history of disagreements between the two men.
Maynardville police criminal investigator Phillip Johnson testified Wednesday about how Woodby's body was found in the ditch on that road.
Johnson also testified that hundreds of calls had been made to police related to Waggoner and Woodby's ongoing dispute.
The jury was a shown a wooden stick, described as a club in court on Wednesday. The wooden stick was found near Woodby's body at the scene in 2013.
Investigator Johnson also testified that there was a previous investigation where Woodby may have threatened Waggoner's life.
The jury was selected on Monday in Union County Criminal Court.
Waggoner's son, Kolton, was charged with one count of facilitation of second degree murder. He is still awaiting trial.
