Boy, 15, charged with murder after 13-year-old girl found dead

POWELL, Tenn. — The body of a 13-year-old girl was found in the Powell community Tuesday afternoon near the Broadacres community. Tom Spangler, the Knox County sheriff, said a 15-year-old male was arrested and is facing a second-degree murder charge.

He said it’s believed the two knew each other, and he said there was no active threat to the Powell community.

The identities of anyone involved were not immediately available. Spangler said the investigation was ongoing and investigators were “looking at other leads” to see if there were any additional details. He also said he was withholding the girl’s name out of respect for her family.

“It’s tough and we had some of the detectives that went with some of our chaplains to inform the family,” he said during a press conference Tuesday evening. “To unexpectedly have someone show up at your doorstep and tell you something so tragic. It’s tough on that family, but it’s tough on those individuals as well.”

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a call about the body at around 4:45 p.m. — a few minutes from Powell High School.

Spangler said the body was found on a trail often used by local kids to go back and forth from a nearby gas station, and he said two people found the body. Spangler said the scene was still being worked by the sheriff’s office, and there was a chance kids could encounter deputies on their way to school Wednesday morning.

He said the Major Crime Division and the Juvenile Division were working on the case.

Identifying information about the body, or details about how it was found, was not immediately available. This story will be updated when more information is available.