Mahlon Tyrone Prater, 42, was found the night of November 1, 2019, in the 900 block of Piney Grove Church Road in West Knoxville and later died at UT Medical Center. Initial Knoxville Police Department reports said he had suffered head trauma consistent with being struck by a vehicle. Other reports conflicted, saying he had been fatally shot after an altercation. The police confirmed the death was being investigated as a homicide but did not immediately disclose which cause was definitive, and no suspects or arrests were announced at that time.

Prater, an Austin East High School and UT Culinary Arts program graduate, was remembered as a kind, witty, hardworking father of two sons. His family and community were left seeking answers about how he came to be killed. Does anyone have information about Mahlon Prater’s movements or who might have seen him on the night of November 1, 2019?