A man charged with the murder and dismemberment of a young Sullivan County couple in 2015 now faces charges of attempted escape after police say he dug a hole in his cell wall at the Carter County Detention Center.
Officers of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrested Eric James Azotea, 44, of Johnson City, and charged him with attempted escape and vandalism over $500. Azotea is currently in custody at the detention center awaiting trial on two counts of first degree murder, two counts of abuse of a corpse and one count of tampering with or fabricating evidence.
Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford said deputy jailers at the Detention Center “disrupted an escape attempt” by Azotea around 11 p.m. on Thursday night.
“Deputies conducting a roving patrol of the Jail were alerted by a motion sensor in the mechanical chase located behind Mr. Azotea’s assigned cell,” Lunceford said. “Within two minutes of the alarm, jailers apprehended Azotea without incident.”
“Azotea used an improvised tool to dig out a cinder block in order to gain access to the chase area and intended to use the same tool to dig through the exterior wall,” Lunceford added.
In the warrant charging Azotea with escape, Cpl. Matt Patterson said Azotea had “broken through the cinder block underneath the sink from inside his cell” and then climbed through the hole into the mechanical chase area.
On Friday morning, Azotea appeared in Carter County General Sessions Court and was arraigned on the new charges.
Judge Keith Bowers appointed attorney Steve Finney to represent Azotea. Finney also represents Azotea in the pending murder case.
Finney asked Bowers for a short continuation of the case to allow him time to review the charges and meet with his client. Bowers granted the request and set Azotea’s next General Sessions Court appearance for Feb. 16.
Investigators with the Sheriff’s Office along with agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation arrested Azotea in April and charged him with two counts of first degree murder, two counts of abuse of a corpse and one count of tampering with or fabricating evidence in connection with the murder of a young Sullivan County couple at his home in the Pinecrest community of Carter County.
In January 2015, relatives of Arthur Gibson Jr., and his girlfriend, Amber Terrell, both of Kingsport, reported the couple missing. The couple was last seen on Jan. 7, 2015, and family members told police the couple had gone to visit someone in Carter County.
The couple’s car, a 1999 Ford Escort, was found abandoned off Big Springs Road in Carter County on Jan. 12, 2015.
During the investigation, officers learned Gibson and Terrell had been at Azotea’s home on Woodland Drive. Following his arrest, investigators said they believe the murders were the result of a dispute over drugs and money.
In interviews following his arrest, Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford said Azotea confessed to killing the couple and then dismembering their bodies and attempting to burn the remains.