Daugherty
He will be eligible for parole in 51 years.
Daugherty appeared before Judge Carroll Ross in the strangulation death of his wife, Elizabeth Annette Carney. He was represented by Richard Hughes, public defender for the 10th Judicial District.
Daugherty does have the possibility of obtaining parole, but it is mandatory he spends 51 years in Tennessee Department of Corrections before he is eligible.
Prosecutor for the 10th District Cindy Schemel read the affidavit to the court and Ross asked Daugherty if this was his choice to enter the guilty plea.
Daugherty said he understood and it was his choice.
According to Schemel, Carney’s family members went to the couple’s 6th Street home on July 12 after Carney’s mother had not been able to reach her by phone.
Schemel said investigators learned her mother only received text messages but never got to talk to her.
After alerting Bradley County Sheriff’s Office deputies of her possible disappearance, family and friends of Carney went to the home and found her body, which was wrapped in a blanket and placed in a converted closet space, according to Schemel’s report.
According to Schemel, Daugherty was on a phone call with his neighbor Alex Longwell as deputies were responding to the 6th Street home. Schemel said Longwell stated to investigators that as the two were talking, Carney’s family was entering her residence and Daugherty overheard the screams and stated to Longwell, “I guess they found her.”
The investigators report indicated Daugherty choked Carney with his arm. After a short while, he noticed she wasn’t dead and he then used a ligature to kill her.
Schemel also noted Daugherty confessed to Swain County, N.C., and Bradley County detectives he had killed his wife sometime after midnight on July 8, then fled to that county where he was taken into custody after he reportedly attempted to rob and assault a woman at a motel.
According to Tennessee Department of Corrections information provided by Assistant District Attorney General Stephen Hatchett, Daugherty had a prior first-degree murder charge which was reduced to voluntary manslaughter after a conviction in 1991 for the 1990 murder of Larry McKinney. Daugherty’s criminal history includes convictions for robbery, assault and thefts, according to TDOC reports.
