A Carter County woman charged in connection with an attempted murder investigation made her first appearance in court on Monday where the District Attorney’s Office added a new charge against her, and a fourth individual has now been charged in the case.

Last week, deputies of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrested Kasey Miller, 31, of 1932 Bristol Highway, Elizabethton, Michael Silcox, 41, 197 Carl Smith Road, Hampton, and Matthew Dye, 20, no address available, and charged each of them with attempted first-degree murder.

Silcox and Dye appeared in Carter County General Sessions Court on Friday and were arraigned on the charges against them. Miller was not arraigned on Friday due to being placed on suicide watch at the Carter County Detention Center. General Sessions Court Judge Keith Bowers Jr. said on Friday he would not arraign her on the attempted murder charge until she had been cleared from suicide watch by mental health professionals.

A fourth individual has now been charged in connection with the investigation. On Friday, deputies of the CCSO arrested Ross Kelley Jr., 38, of 507 E. Fairview Road, Johnson City, and charged him with attempted first-degree murder.

Both Miller and Kelley appeared in General Sessions Court Monday morning for arraignment.

Kelley filled out an affidavit of indigency requesting a court-appointed attorney in the case. On Friday, the Public Defender’s Office informed the court it has a conflict of interest in the case and cannot represent any of the defendants. Bowers appointed attorney Russell Kloosterman to represent Kelley.

Assistant District Attorney Tim Horne made an oral motion in court asking Bowers to increase the bond previously set for Kelley, citing the seriousness of the allegations involved in the case.

Bowers set Kelley’s bond at $250,000, which is the same bond amount he previously set for Dye and Silcox. “I think that is fair in this case,” Bowers said.

Miller also completed an affidavit requesting a court-appointed attorney. Bowers appointed attorney Ryan Curtis to represent Miller.

During the court proceeding on Monday, Horne made a motion to the court on behalf of the state to amend the charge against Miller to include especially aggravated kidnapping as well as the original charge of attempted first-degree murder. Horne said the decision by the state was based on their review of a video which officers state shows Miller and others assaulting the alleged victim in the case.

Miller had been out on bond on charges of possession of Schedule VI drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia at the time she and her co-defendants allegedly assaulted the victim. On Friday, Bowers revoked her bond in that case and order she be held without bond until she could be arraigned in the new case.

Horne asked on Monday that Bowers set a blanket bond that would cover both cases. Horne also asked the court to set high bond due to the seriousness of the allegations and the fact the alleged actions were captured on video.

Bowers set Miller’s bond at $350,000 and ordered that she have no contact whatsoever with the alleged victim in the case or with the alleged victim’s family.

Bowers set Miller, Kelley, Dye, and Silcox to all return to court on July 3 with their attorneys in order to set a date for a preliminary hearing in the case. “There is no reason for this case to linger,” Bowers said.

The charges against Miller, Kelley, Dye, and Silcox stem from an investigation by drug investigators with the Carter County Sheriff’s Office and the Elizabethton Police Department into a report of a video showing a man being assaulted with a baseball bat and stabbed.

According to court documents, officers received a tip that the video was on Miller’s phone and showed Miller and others committing the assault. Officers obtained Miller’s permission to search her cellphone, according to court documents, and found the video described by the informant.

“The video starts out with Kasey Miller saying ‘I give you that dope and my dope.’ Kasey Miller appears to be accusing the unknown victim of ripping her off of narcotics,” an undercover officer with the CCSO said in the affidavit. “Kasey Miller then states ‘I’m going to count to five and then we’re done.’ Kasey Miller counts to five then begins to strike the unknown victim with what appears to be a bat. As the victim is being struck he is saying ‘I didn’t steal the dope.’”

“Kasey Miller beats the victim to the ground and forces him to lay flat on his back and states ‘Bring me that knife,’” the affidavit continues. “An unknown male then enters into the view of the video with what appears to be a knife in his right hand. As the male approaches the victim, Kasey Miller is standing over top the victim and says standing on him. The male then stands on the victim’s right arm, looks over top of him, says ‘hey’ then jabs him in the neck three times with what appears to be a knife.”

Through the investigation, officers identified Dye, Silcox, and Kelley as being involved in the incident.