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Cocke County says case closed after widow releases suicide note, but parents dispute note

Posted at 3:07 pm June 16, 2015
By John Huotari 9 Comments

Alexander John Heitman

Alexander John Heitman

Officials say it was suicide. But the parents are skeptical.

So questions linger almost four years after Alexander John Heitman, 29, of Knoxville, was found dead in Cocke County after being reported missing by Oak Ridge Schools. Heitman reportedly died on Tranquility Ridge Drive outside Newport on July 25, 2011. Officials said it was suicide, a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

But Heitman’s parents, Don and Annette Heitman of Adams, Wisconsin, find it hard to believe. They aren’t the only ones. Some current and former Oak Ridge residents, including City Council member Trina Baughn, are also skeptical of the official cause of death.

Heitman’s widow, Kristie Heitman, is not. In February, she released a suicide note that she believes Alex, who was the supervisor of business and support services for Oak Ridge Schools, wrote the day before he died.

Neither is Cocke County Sheriff Armando Fontes. In March, he said the case is closed, and there is no reason to continue pursuing it. Investigators found no evidence that anyone else was involved, Fontes said.

But Don and Annette continue to seek answers. They started a website in October 2013 and used it to raise questions about the case. They’ve also asked for the death investigation to be re-opened, hired attorney Hugh Ward to help them, and won the support of Baughn and others. They’ve also asked the FBI to investigate. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Cocke County, Education, Front Page News, Government, K-12, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Alex Heitman, Alexander John Heitman, Anderson County District Attorney, Annette Heitman, Armando Fonte, audit, Bill Dean, check fraud, check fraud ring, Chuck Cagle, Cocke County, Cocke County Sheriff's Department, Dave Clark, death investigation, digital analysis, Don Heitman, forensic analysis, fraud, Hugh Ward, Jim Akagi, Karen Gagliano, Kristie Heitman, Newport Plain Talk, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Schools, ORPD, public records, Pugh and Company, Robert Caldwell, suicide, suicide note, Sword and Shield, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Terry Jarnigan, Tom Bailey, Tranquility Ridge Drive, Trina Baughn, Tyler Mayes, What Happened to Alex Heitman, William Brownlow Marsh

Heitman wrote suicide note before death, report says

Posted at 2:50 pm February 27, 2015
By John Huotari 35 Comments

Alexander John Heitman

Alexander John Heitman

Note: This story was last updated at 2:08 a.m. Feb. 28.

The cause of his death has been questioned for months, but information released Friday said a former Oak Ridge Schools employee found dead in Cocke County in July 2011 wrote a suicide note the day before he died.

Alex Heitman, 29, was the supervisor of business and support services for Oak Ridge Schools. Cocke County authorities said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on July 25, 2011. The death was ruled a suicide.

But Heitman’s parents, Don and Annette Heitman, have been questioning since at least October 2013 whether their son’s death, which they call mysterious, was actually a suicide. They’ve been supported by a few residents and former residents and Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn.

On Monday, a television station in Madison, Wisconsin, broadcast a story on Heitman’s death and his parent’s quest to find answers. In that story, Don Heitman said “we just don’t have the answers to prove that it was (suicide).” In that same story, Baughn said the information collected so far “points to something much bigger than a suicide.”

But Heitman’s widow, Kristie Heitman, told the TV station that she believes her late husband committed suicide, and she found what appears to be a suicide note on his computer after he died. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Cocke County, Education, Front Page News, K-12, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Alex Heitman, Alexander John Heitman, Anderson County District Attorney General, Annette Heitman, City of Oak Ridge, Cocke County, Cocke County Sheriff's Department, Dave Clark, Don Heitman, FBI, Jim Akagi, Kristie Heitman, Newport Plain Talk, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Police Department, Oak Ridge Schools, suicide, suicide note, Trina Baughn, What Happened to Alex Heitman

Heitman family wants death investigation re-opened

Posted at 5:40 pm December 10, 2014
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Alexander John Heitman

Alexander John Heitman

Note: This story was last updated at 11:45 a.m. Dec. 11.

The family of a former Oak Ridge school employee found dead of a shotgun wound in Cocke County more than three years ago wants authorities there to reopen the investigation of their son’s death, a press release said.

The family of Alexander “Alex” J. Heitman has also hired an attorney, retired Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugh B. Ward Jr. of Knoxville law firm Young Williams. Ward has Oak Ridge connections, serving on several local boards and as the city’s administrative hearing officer.

Heitman’s family asked for the death investigation to be re-opened after Cocke County Circuit Court Judge Ben Hooper on Monday ordered Coroner Terry Jarnigan to stay away from crime scenes and dead bodies in Cocke County. The Newport Plain Talk reported that Jarnigan allegedly compromised a corpse he was told would be sent for an autopsy in November.

WBIR-TV in Knoxville reported that Jarnigan resigned Tuesday. The Heitmans said the former county coroner oversaw their son’s crime scene.

The Plain Talk reported in June that the District Attorney’s office in Newport said it saw no reason to re-open the investigation of Heitman’s death, which has been ruled a suicide. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Alex Heitman, Alexander “Alex” J. Heitman, Alexander John Heitman, Annette Heitman, Ben Hooper, Bruce Borchers, Cocke County, death, Hugh B. Ward Jr., Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge Schools, suicide, Terry Jarnigan, Trina Baughn, Young Williams

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