William Gleason Bill Hitchcock, Jr., 63, was found dead in the driveway of his Elizabethton, Tennessee home on April 1, 2023. Fishermen on the Watauga River spotted him and called authorities after he did not respond. Deputies arriving at the Old Stoney Creek Road residence determined he had sustained a fatal gunshot wound.

Investigators focused on Hitchcock’s two sons, Jacob Alexander Hitchcock and Joshua Elliott Hitchcock. Arrests came on May 8, 2023, after a Carter County grand jury returned indictments alleging the motive was a dispute over inheritance. Court filings say the brothers exchanged texts discussing killing their father; one message from Joshua mentioned a drive by on him when I get the chance. The shooting reportedly occurred less than an hour after they learned the home was under contract.

Joshua later admitted to shooting their father but alleged it was self-defense, describing a strained relationship in which their father would push him to the ground. What details from the texts and the timeline of the brothers’ movements remain unclear to the public. Does anyone have information about William Hitchcock, his sons, or what happened that morning?