On April 7, 2017, 55-year-old Kenneth Nolan ’Kenny’ Hutcheson of Byron, a tow truck operator and father and grandfather who enjoyed motorcycles, fishing and tinkering, was shot and killed outside his home on Berlyn Drive in Crawford County, Georgia. The shooting occurred the morning Hutcheson and his girlfriend returned from court where she had been attempting to obtain a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, Thomas Gary Palmer.

A single gunshot was fired; the girlfriend saw Hutcheson on the ground and Palmer holding a gun. Palmer then forced the woman into Hutcheson’s truck, struck her with the gun, and drove her to several locations, including a store on Hartley Bridge Road and later into Monroe County. She escaped when Palmer exited the vehicle and went to a convenience store to call for help.

Monroe County deputies located Palmer walking along a road; an exchange of gunfire occurred when officers tried to take him into custody and he was subsequently arrested. A search of Palmer’s residence reportedly turned up a marijuana grow operation and suspected methamphetamine.

Did anyone in the area know Hutcheson or see activity around Berlyn Drive that morning?