TBI investigation of Oak Ridge apartment death still open, ongoing

The investigation of the death of an Oak Ridge man in an apartment in December 2014 remains open and ongoing, a state official said Monday.

Thomas Steven Thrasher Jr., 29, also known as “T.S.,” died December 8, 2014. He was found dead in a second-floor apartment when the Oak Ridge Police Department responded to a report of a possible intruder at about 4:40 a.m. that Monday at 615 West Vanderbilt Drive.

Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said that month that a criminal investigation was under way, but there had not been an arrest and no charges had been filed. Clark said at the time that an autopsy had been performed by the Anderson County medical examiner.

“As a result of the circumstances, the Oak Ridge Police and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have been conducting a criminal investigation,” Clark said. “There has been no arrest or charges filed at this time.”

Readers have periodically asked for updates on the investigation, and Oak Ridge Today followed up with TBI again on Monday, February 8.

“That investigation remains open and ongoing,” TBI spokesperson Susan Niland said in response to a reporter’s inquiry.

Earlier, Clark said state law prevents the release of the details of the death investigation until it’s over, public help is needed to locate a suspect or person of interest, or when an arrest is made.

“However, additional details will be made available upon completion of the investigation or in the event of an arrest,” Clark said.

The ORPD has called the death “suspicious,” and they turned the case over to Clark. The DA in turn asked the TBI to investigate.

Thrasher lived with his wife, Samantha Anne Thrasher, and two children at the sprawling Rolling Hills Apartments complex in central Oak Ridge.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

 

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