RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nearly 50 years after a man’s body was found near a recreation area in La Vergne, authorities say they finally know his name.
On Monday, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office announced that DNA testing indicates that Jessie Lee Williamson, 52, was the man found wrapped in a smoldering blanket at the Poole Knobs Recreation Area along Jones Road on Aug. 1, 1978.
The 52-year-old was reportedly shot multiple times and his upper body was wrapped in a garden hose. Detectives added Williamson was partially burned and it appeared he had been killed somewhere else and dragged from the parking lot.
Although fingerprints were sent to the TBI and FBI in 1978, they yielded no results, according to the sheriff’s office. Officials said an autopsy report revealed Williamson was shot five times and sustained severe burns to his arm, face, head and chest, stating that his body remained at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Department…