TN - Athina Hopson (Huff), 25, Johnson City, + Elizabeth Vanmeter, Joycelyn Alsup, 2019, murdered, SK James Michael Wright - guilty*

New Posts

cybervampira

cybervampira

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2014
Messages
15,973
Reaction score
68,921
Johnson City TN POLICE

The Johnson City Police Department is investigating a missing person case. Twenty five year old Athina Hopson has not been seen or heard from since Monday, March 18th, 2019. Athina may also go by the name Athina Huff. She was last contacted in the area of Garden//Belmont in the Carver Community of Johnson City, TN around 9:00 a.m. on the 18th.

If anyone has any information or has seen Athina Hopson, they are asked to contact the Johnson City Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at (423)434-6166, or to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 434-6158. To send a confidential tip text 423JCPD and your tip to 847411 (TIP411) or send a tip to www.citizenobserver.com.



Johnson City POLICE

JCPD looking for missing woman
 
The AWARE Foundation has a missing poster with more information:

The AWARE Foundation, Inc.

"Athina Renea Hopson (AKA Athina Huff) was last seen March 16, 2019 in Johnson City, Tennessee. On March 17, she was reportedly picked up by a male acquaintance who was taking her to his trailer in Mendota, Virginia to clean it. The acquaintance claims he dropped her back off on March 18, but this has not been confirmed, Athina hasn’t been heard from or seen." BBM

And from MSM:

BREAKING: Mendota man admits to killing three people, official says

MENDOTA, Va. — A Washington County, Virginia man is charged with murder and investigators have spent most of Friday trying to find the bodies that could possibly be submerged in the North Fork of the Holston River.

James Michael Wright is charged with three counts of capital murder, according to Commonwealth's Attorney Josh Cumbow.

Wright reportedly admitted to killing three people while giving a statement to authorities. Cumbow says the victims are not related to the suspect but has not released any other details on those murdered. . . .
Click to expand...
BBM

More details are supposed to be coming today.
 
Another MSM article about the murders:

Two bodies found in Mendota after man admits to killing three people

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Va. — Search efforts will continue by air Saturday for the victims of James Michael Wright.

Wright admitted to officials that he killed three people and dumped their bodies in the river.

Two bodies have been recovered from the North Fork of the Holston River. Search efforts will resume Saturday morning for the other victim. . . .
Click to expand...

AND

Agencies probing reported murder cases in Mendota

. . . Washington County Sheriff Fred Newman has declined to release any details in the case and said Saturday he expects to hold a press conference on Monday . . .
Click to expand...
 
UPDATE: Warrants detail Mendota suspect's confession, names of victims

“Police documents obtained Monday said suspected killer James Michael Wright confessed to going on a three-week killing spree earlier this year.”

“The third murder victim was identified as Athena Hopson, 25--a woman reported missing by Johnson City police on March 27. The warrant said that Hospon was killed on March 17.“
 
Court details released:

Court records reveal details in case against Mendota man

Court records in Washington County Virginia reveal that a Mendota man charged with three counts of capital murder knew the three female victims through his work with a traveling carnival. James Michael Wright, 23, confessed to police that he shot and killed the three females that had been reported missing between Feb. 28 and March 17. The females were identified in court records as Elizabeth VanMeter, 21, Athena Hopson, 25, and an unidentified 17-year-old.

He confessed that he shot and killed Hopson on March 17 while on a walk near his home, according to court records. He said he tripped and fell two separate times and shot her in the head each time.

Wright said Hopson's body fell out of the back of the truck on a bridge along Nordyke Road when he was transporting her to the hospital and her body rolled down to the river. . . .
Click to expand...
 
TatianaBarbie said:
His "story" was probably one on the reasons he was arrested so quickly!
Click to expand...

Exactly. So, he tripped and shot her once in the head. Am I to assume she then fell to the ground and he tripped again and shot her in the head AGAIN, then he loaded her body into his truck to take her to the hospital and she fell out so he then put her in the water? So what, is he the clumsiest guy on Earth? Yeah, I'm sure he was taking her to the hospital with two gunshot wounds to the head after already having murdered 2 people. Sounds very likely! </end sarcasm>
 
A newer MSM article:

NE Tennessee women believed to be victims of serial killer

. . . Hopson’s body has yet to be recovered, despite multiple searches of the North Fork of the Holston River. Wright allegedly told police he shot Hopson on or about March 17, then attempted to transport her body in the back of his pickup truck. While doing so, the body reportedly fell out and rolled down an embankment near the bridge on Nordyke Road. Wright allegedly admitted to police that he then placed her body in the river. . . .
Click to expand...

It is a fairly long article, and talks about LE finding the bodies of the other two bodies of victims in JMW's yard, and their identity. LE is also checking with the company that JMW worked as a carnie for, to see if there are any more possible victims. I hope LE is able to find Athina's body quickly, so that her family can bring her home.
 
Traveling carnival worker confesses to killing 2 women, teen in 18-day period: Police

A traveling carnival worker has allegedly confessed to killing two women and a teenager within an 18-day period in Virginia, according to authorities.

Mendota resident James Michael Wright, 23, worked as a sub-contractor for carnival company Drew Expositions, Washington County Sheriff, the Hon., Fred Newman, told reporters at a press conference on Monday.

(MORE: Man suspected of child sex abuse turns himself into Oregon authorities after 23 years on the run: FBI)
About two weeks ago, investigators with the Johnson City Police Department in Tennessee contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Office to request assistance in setting up an interview with Wright, who they had identified as a suspect in the case for missing person Athina Hopson, 25, who was last seen in his company, Newman said.

While executing a search warrant on Wright's truck, authorities found Hopson's cell phone, Newman said. On Thursday, when Wright was being interviewed by detectives from Tennessee at the local sheriff's office, he allegedly confessed to killing Hopson and two other female victims, Newman said.

Wright allegedly told police that he shot and killed 22-year-old Carter County, Tennessee, resident Elizabeth Marie Vanmeter on Feb. 28 as a result of an argument, Newman said. She was reported missing by her family on March 17.

Joslyn M. Alsup, whose father worked with Wright at the carnival, was reporting missing on March 8, and Wright allegedly admitted to shooting and killing her the next day, police said.

(MORE: 80-year-old man allegedly confessed to murdering Kansas City lawyer, prosecutors say)
Wright allegedly shot and killed Hopson on March 17, Newman said. Wright allegedly told investigators that her body fell out of his truck and down an embankment near a bridge as he was driving and that he placed her body in the river, Newman said. Hopson was reported missing by her mother on March 21, authorities said.

Wright met each of his victims through the carnival, which travels up and down the East Coast, Newman said, adding that Alsup was the daughter of one Wright's coworkers.

More at link...
 
A Virginia man has been charged with killing two Tennessee women and a teenage girl he met while working with a traveling carnival, authorities announced Monday.
.....
The sheriff identified the victims as Elizabeth Vanmeter, 22, of Carter County, Tennessee; Jocelyn Alsup, 17, of Cobb County, Georgia; and Athena Hopson, 25, of Johnson City, Tennessee.

LINK to one victim's thread:
Deceased/Not Found - TN - Athina Hopson (Huff), 25, Johnson City, Washington County, 18 Mar 2019 *ARREST*


Traveling carnival worker admits to killing two Tennessee women, Georgia teen, police say

Traveling carnival worker confesses to killing 2 women, teen in 18-day period: Police
 
Last edited:
From the above article: "Investigators currently have no reason to believe that there are additional victims, the sheriff said, but authorities continue to investigate with assistance from the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service."

I wonder why they even believe no additional victims before they have even checked to see.

MOO, here is another young criminal who does not fear the death penalty because it is not enforced and because we are constantly fed that it's "inhumane or costs more than life in prison," and he's tired of working and wants to be housed, fed and clothed (includes recreation) for the rest of his life. JMO. Such a smug look on his face.

I would bet anything these three murders are not his first rodeo. MOO
 
kirkassoc said:
From the above article: "Investigators currently have no reason to believe that there are additional victims, the sheriff said, but authorities continue to investigate with assistance from the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service."

I wonder why they even believe no additional victims before they have even checked to see.

MOO, here is another young criminal who does not fear the death penalty because it is not enforced and because we are constantly fed that it's "inhumane or costs more than life in prison," and he's tired of working and wants to be housed, fed and clothed (includes recreation) for the rest of his life. JMO. Such a smug look on his face.

I would bet anything these three murders are not his first rodeo. MOO
Click to expand...

They really need to get into this guy's head. He can obviously lie easily because he obviously was a suspect with the Athina Hopson subject as being the last person seen with her in March. They would have put plenty of pressure on him to confess. If they can convince him is is doing something good by helping to recover remains he may turn.
 
This link is also in post #1. He's claiming 2 of these deaths were accidental, and one of the bodies happened to fall out of his truck while driving over a bridge? o_O

  • Wright told investigators he fatally shot Vanmeter after they had a fight on Feb. 28. He said he buried her body near his home in Mendota, Virginia. Vanmeter was reported missing from Carter County on March 17; a caretaker said she had not been seen since Feb. 28.

  • Wright said he fatally shot Alsup on March 9 after they had sex in the woods near his home. He claimed he was trying to shoot an animal when he shot her instead. He said he covered her body with logs next to a creek near his home. Alsup was reported missing from Cobb County on March 8.

  • Wright said he shot and killed Hopson while they were on a walk on March 17. He told investigators he shot her when he tripped and fell. Wright said he put her body in the back of his truck but that it fell out of the vehicle while he was driving over a bridge. Wright said he could not retrieve the body and left it in a river. Hopson was reported missing from Johnson City on March 21.
Click to expand...

Traveling carnival worker admits to killing two Tennessee women, Georgia teen, police say
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 69 more.
Total: 3,927 (members: 70, guests: 3,857)

Online statistics

Members online
70
Guests online
3,857
Total visitors
3,927
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
592,115
Messages
17,963,465
Members
228,687
Latest member
Pabo1998
Back
Top