Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is a mountain resort town known for the beauty of the surrounding Great Smoky Mountains. In the 1980s, however, brutal murders at two local hotels--The Rocky Top Village Inn and the Holiday Inn--would change the area forever and introduce some infamous Gatlinburg ghost stories.

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Sources

• State of Tennessee v. Joseph Charles DeModica (1990)
• State of Tennessee v. Edward Leroy Haris (1992)
• Waxman, L. (1988, August 30). Slaying suspect ‘ready, willing’ to participate, prosecutor says. The Tennessean.
• Guinn, S. (1988, September 1). Woman clarifies murder role. Johnson City Press.
• Guinn, S. (1988, September 2). Life term sentence in deaths. Johnson City Press.
• Alapo, L. (2005, June 3). Man convicted in 1986 motel murders released. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Fowler, B. (2015, September 24). Cellmate indicted in ‘Tattoo Eddie’ slashing death. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Coleman, L. (2015, March 12). Gatlinburg inn killer dies in prison stabbing. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Kauffman, B. (1988, August 31). Inmate says defendant admitted being ‘lookout’ as 2 murdered. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1987, December 13). One of 4 linked to resort slaying still at large. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1988, March 19). Woman says she’ll wed slaying suspect. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1987, December 18). Sevier suspect says arrest a surprise. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Veal, K.F. (1986, September 15). 2 Gatlinburg workers slain. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Thomas, L.R. (1988, May 14). ‘Tattoo Eddie’ gets death. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Dockery, B. (1998, November 23). Defendant in Rocky Top slaying gets life plus 40 years. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Shafer, S. (1980, July 31). 2 girls strangled during trip to Smokies ‘had zest for life.’ The Courier-Journal.
• Sybil McLain-Topel (2017). https://www.facebook.com/artsouthnow/posts/this-is-what-happened-monday-convicted-killer-hughes-up-for-parole-for-1980-teen/1663184380657799/
• City Confidential – S2E19 – Smoky Mountain
• Findagrave – Melissa Yvonne “Missie” Suttles Hill
• Findagrave – Troy Dale Valentine
• https://gatlinburghaunts.com/rocky-top-village-inn/
• https://www.smokyvistas.com/a-brief-history-of-gatlinburg/

18-year-olds Melissa Chilton and Tiffany Campbell were young, beautiful girls with their whole lives ahead of them until the wrong person walked into the Exotic Tan for Men.

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Check out our website (it's a work in progress): itsmurderyall.com

Sources

• Highland, D. (1996, February 23). Two teen-age employees of tanning salon slain. The Tennessean.
• Moore, L.A. (1996, February 24). Youth, hope die on the wild side. The Tennessean.
• Moore, L.A. (1996, February 27). Police say slain dancers possibly knew assailant. The Tennessean.
• CrimeStoppers. (1997, July 9). Exotic Tan slayings clues worth $1,000. The Tennessean.
• Campos, A. (2002, March 29). Man held in spree was Jesuit coach. The Sacramento Bee.
• Wilson, W. (2002, April 19). Guilty plea in robberies. The Sacramento Bee.
• Ritter, F. (2006, February 21). Mom will pay for info in her slain daughter’s ‘cold case.’ The Tennessean.
• Hass, B. (2013, February 23). Ex-football star charged in cold case. The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Barchenger, S. (2015, August 28). After 19 years, mothers will face suspect in daughters’ slayings. The Tennessean.
• Barchenger, S. (2016, July 11). Judge denies lower bond in tanning bed slayings case. The Tennessean.
• Barchenger, S. (2017, March 16). Man charged in 1996 deaths argues for case’s dismissal. The Tennessean.
• Tamburin, A. (2017, November 30). Suspect in 1996 tanning bed killings will be released on bond. The Tennessean.
• Artnfield, M. (2018). Monster City: Murder, music, and mayhem in Nashville’s dark age. Little A.
• Snopes – Tanning Bed Death. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/brown-betty/
• The Kentucky Bordello Murders - https://unsolved.com/gallery/candy-belt-gloria-ross/

Tom Steeples has been charged with the murders of Ronnie Bingham, Robb Phillips, and Kelli Phillips. Could he also be the missing link to a cold case from 1992?

Come follow us on Instagram: @itsmurderyall

And check out our website (it's a work in progress): itsmurderyall.com

Sources

• Callow, J. (1992, October 26). MTSU coed murdered in Georgia. The Daily News-Journal.
• Nociti, J. (1992, October 27). Woman beaten to death. Stewart-Houston Times.
• Loupe, D. (1992, October 29). Town shocked by coed’s slaying here. The Atlanta Journal.
• Cannon, A. (1992, December 20). Career, personal life crashes with beating. The Daily News-Journal.
• Cannon, A. (1993, January 17). Scholarships honor slain student. The Daily News-Journal.
• Cannon, A. (1994, February 27). Murder reward $10,000. The Daily News-Journal.
• Cannon, A. (1994, April 28). TV show gets response on student murder. The Daily News-Journal.

• Schmitt, B., & Thomas, S. (1994, May 29). Steeples’ past reveals evidence of troubled life. The Tennessean.

• Cannon, A. (1994, June 8). Victim’s fiancé asks to see pic. The Daily News-Journal.

  Cannon, A. (1994, June 11). Victim’s fiancé can’t see lineup. The Daily News-Journal.

• Tran, T., & Sidime, A. (1994, August 12). Police trace downfall of a killer ego. The Tennessean.
• Hobbs, B. (1994, August 20). Steeples died of cocaine overdose. The Tennessean.
• Cannon, A. (1997, April 26). Ex-student killed in S. Africa wreck. The Daily News-Journal.
• Alligood, L. (2002, November 17). Mt. Juliet office called front for massive scam. The Tennessean.
• Miller, M. (2003, January 24). The Rabi and Steeples fraud show. Law.com.
• State of Tennessee v. Tillie Ruth Steeples
• Heather Uffelman Obituary
• Unsolved Mysteries – Tom Johnson - https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Tom_Johnson

• FindaGrave.com - Jeremy Andrew Rolfs
• FindaGrave.com - Heather Roxanne Uffelman
• SEC Complaint: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/comp17835.htm