KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Three women were fatally stabbed at a Pilot truck stop in Knox County early Tuesday morning before responding deputies confronted and killed the suspect, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
TBI said a fourth woman, who was a customer, was transported to the hospital for treatment but was released on Wednesday. She has not yet been identified.
The three women killed were all employees of the Pilot Travel Center. TBI identified them as 57-year-old Joyce Whaley, 51-year-old Patricia Denise Nibbe, and 41-year-old Nettie R. Spencer.
Here is what we know about them from friends and family.
Joyce Whaley, 57
Joyce Whaley was a faithful and steadfast member of The Crossing Chuch in Kodak, according to her pastor.
McPeek said she was a church volunteer who loved her family and the Lady Vols.
"One of the most caring people I've ever met," said pastor Kermit McPeek.
McPeek said she he was with her husband when he got the news. In addition to her husband, McPeek said Whaley is survived by two daughters and two grandchildren.
Denise Nibbe, 51
Pastor Joshua Moore at Grace Community Church remembered Denise Nibbe as a woman you could count on.
“She was one of the most giving people, willing to help in an instant in any situation," he said, noting that she helped him pick out an engagement ring for the woman who became his wife.
Nibbe leaves behind three children in their late teens and early 20s and a 6-year-old grandson.
"They're naturally devastated," Moore said, adding that she always greeted you with a hug and a smile on her face.
“I think it’s important that people remember her as that caring compassionate, outgoing, loving, nurturing person that she was,” Moore said.
Nettie Spencer, 41
Nettie Spencer's cousin Alyssa Rivera remembered her as "the best kind of person to be around."
She was outgoing and kind, Rivera said.
She recalled a time Spencer talked her into trying out a canoe on the lake one summer.
"That was an amazing experience," Rivera said. "[She] just taught me how to have fun with what you have."
Spencer was a mother.
