A prolonged, bitter neighborhood feud in Luttrell, Tennessee, ended in lethal violence on the night of September 16, 2013, when 45-year-old Michael Woodby was found shot in a ditch along State Route 370. The dispute between the Woodbys and their across-the-street neighbors, the Waggoners, had produced hundreds of law enforcement calls, multiple court filings, and persistent mutual surveillance in the three years before the shooting.

At about 10:05 p.m. a 911 call about a fight and possible shooting brought deputies to the 500 block of State Route 370, where Woodby’s body was discovered with four gunshot wounds that damaged his heart and right lung. Kevin Lee Waggoner, 42, made the call; he and his 21-year-old son Kolton had been walking along the road. Kevin Waggoner told officers he shot Woodby in self-defense after Woodby allegedly followed them with a large wooden stick and struck Kolton. Investigators noted scene evidence that conflicted with that account, including the locations of the body and shell casings and bullet trajectories consistent with a shooter standing above someone in the ditch.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation led the inquiry, and both Kevin and Kolton Waggoner were indicted on charges arising from the shooting.