On April 8, 2016, 57-year-old Ricky Helmick Sr. and 37-year-old Natasha Riley were found shot to death inside a residence on Vardy Blackwater Road in Sneedville, Tennessee. The Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation led the inquiry, which soon focused on Ricky Helmick Jr., the 30-year-old son of the male victim.

Helmick Jr. was located and arrested in neighboring Hamblen County within days and initially charged with kidnapping after investigators said another relative had been confined during the incident. Authorities alleged the killings occurred during an attempt to steal Helmick Sr.’s truck. A Hancock County grand jury later indicted Helmick Jr. on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated kidnapping and theft over $1,000. He was held on $750,000 bond.

Subsequent court proceedings resulted in a jury conviction for theft of property and aggravated kidnapping to facilitate theft. Did anyone in the community have contact with either victim or the family around that April 2016 timeframe that could add detail to the timeline?