Danny Dwight Dowdy, 58, was a longtime businessman and active farmer from Byrdstown, Tennessee. On July 30, 2014, he and his 22-year-old son Cody Dowdy were found dead inside their family business, the Sugar Shack in Static, Tennessee. A multi-agency investigation led by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Pickett County Sheriff’s Department identified the deaths as the result of a robbery that turned violent.

Surveillance evidence from the Sugar Shack led to the arrest of 34-year-old Joshua Clay Pyles of Monticello, Kentucky, on August 1, 2014. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery. The indictment alleged Pyles fatally shot both Danny and Cody and took about $400 from the cash register.

Pyles initially pleaded not guilty, then later changed his plea to guilty to two counts of premeditated murder and the robbery charge. In 2017 he was sentenced to a total of 69 years in prison. Pyles gave a confession statement saying he had panicked and that the robbery motive related to his son being ill.

Did anyone in the community have recent contact with Danny or Cody that might shed light on their final day?