Ep 35 - The Gatlinburg Hotel Murders

Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is a mountain resort town known for the beauty of the surrounding Great Smoky Mountains. In the 1980s, however, brutal murders at two local hotels--The Rocky Top Village Inn and the Holiday Inn--would change the area forever and introduce some infamous Gatlinburg ghost stories.

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Sources

• State of Tennessee v. Joseph Charles DeModica (1990)
• State of Tennessee v. Edward Leroy Haris (1992)
• Waxman, L. (1988, August 30). Slaying suspect ‘ready, willing’ to participate, prosecutor says. The Tennessean.
• Guinn, S. (1988, September 1). Woman clarifies murder role. Johnson City Press.
• Guinn, S. (1988, September 2). Life term sentence in deaths. Johnson City Press.
• Alapo, L. (2005, June 3). Man convicted in 1986 motel murders released. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Fowler, B. (2015, September 24). Cellmate indicted in ‘Tattoo Eddie’ slashing death. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Coleman, L. (2015, March 12). Gatlinburg inn killer dies in prison stabbing. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Kauffman, B. (1988, August 31). Inmate says defendant admitted being ‘lookout’ as 2 murdered. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1987, December 13). One of 4 linked to resort slaying still at large. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1988, March 19). Woman says she’ll wed slaying suspect. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1987, December 18). Sevier suspect says arrest a surprise. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Veal, K.F. (1986, September 15). 2 Gatlinburg workers slain. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1988, May 14). ‘Tattoo Eddie’ gets death. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Dockery, B. (1998, November 23). Defendant in Rocky Top slaying gets life plus 40 years. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Shafer, S. (1980, July 31). 2 girls strangled during trip to Smokies ‘had zest for life.’ The Courier-Journal.
• Sybil McLain-Topel (2017). https://www.facebook.com/artsouthnow/posts/this-is-what-happened-monday-convicted-killer-hughes-up-for-parole-for-1980-teen/1663184380657799/
• City Confidential – S2E19 – Smoky Mountain
• Findagrave – Melissa Yvonne “Missie” Suttles Hill
• Findagrave – Troy Dale Valentine
• https://gatlinburghaunts.com/rocky-top-village-inn/
• https://www.smokyvistas.com/a-brief-history-of-gatlinburg/