2 arrested in 2019 murder of Tennessee Army National Guard Soldier

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WATE) — In 2019, Tennessee Army National Guard Soldier Jacob Bishop was found dead at his home in Lenoir City. Nearly five years later, two people have been arrested and charged with his murder.

The Loudon County Sheriff’s Office released on Tuesday that Eric Austin Byrd, 39, of Lenoir City, and Amanda James Bishop, 39, of Kingston were arrested in connection to Jacob Bishop’s murder. The arrests were made after a ‘thorough and comprehensive’ investigation involving numerous law enforcement agencies.

According to the sheriff’s office, Amanda and Jacob Bishop were going through a divorce and in a heated custody battle at the time of the murder. Sheriff Jimmy Davis explained during a press conference Tuesday afternoon that they believe that is what “sparked the animosity” between them and eventually led to Jacob Bishop’s murder. Davis added that Amanda Bishop was always “kind of at the top of the list” of suspects.”

LCSO also identified Byrd as Amanda Bishop’s cousin.

During the press conference, Davis explained details of the case, including how it was the only unsolved murder case the department had during former Sheriff Tim Guider’s 32 year-tenure.

On October 1, 2019, Jacob Bishop was found dead at his home . He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was bound by zip ties, according to the sheriff’s office. He had just returned from Poland that May.

Davis also shared that the case has been actively investigated constantly since it began, and they have been in contact with Jacob Bishop’s mother, who was the one that found him dead, around every week.

“Some people say, you know, give them peace or closure. I don’t think there’s really a closure in a case like this, but we can at least try to give them some justice. So that’s what we’re trying to do today is give her a little bit of justice and be able to follow this through to get a conviction,” said Davis.

LCSO said the investigation has faced numerous challenges, but advancements in technology and evidence allowed the case to progress. Although Davis did not share exactly what technology was used in the breakthrough, he did share that the investigation included geofencing and data collection “of that nature.”

Both Byrd and Amanda Bishop were charged with first-degree murder. They are being held at the Loudon County Detention Center on $1 million bonds.

Davis added that the case also hit close to home.

“Before Jacob was killed he was in a deployment to Poland attendance, Tennessee Army National Guard. As you know, our Chief Deputy Zac Frye, is also in the National Guard as well as Sergeant Detective Shane Gomer. We are preparing three of those to be able to be deployed to Kuwait, ” Davis explained, continuing to say Frye was deployed to Poland with a separate unit at the same time and knew of Bishop. “Us having those close personal ties with Tennessee Army National Guard really brings it close to home, as we all obviously want to take care of our service members that take care of us. So when this happened, it was very, very shocking that someone would do this to one of our service members.”

The case was investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Secret Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Maryville Police Department, Lenoir City Police Department, Knoxville Police Department, Sulphur Springs Police Department, TX, Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office, TX, Roane County Sheriff’s Office, Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, Union County Sheriff’s Office, 9th Judicial District Drug Task Force, 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, University of Tennessee Regional Forensics Center and the Regional Organized Crime Information Center (ROCIC).

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated.

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