Layla Long

Layla Clair Wilson Long, a 27-year-old White woman, was a creative and artistic soul who spent her life in McMinn County, Tennessee. A member of the East Athens Baptist Church, she found joy in simple, beautiful things. Loved ones remember her passion for picking flowers and creating lovely arrangements with them. Layla was also an accomplished artist and enjoyed playing basketball. Her life, filled with creativity and a love for nature, was a cherished part of her community in Athens.

That life was tragically extinguished in the first hours of Tuesday, May 5, 2020. At approximately 12:15 a.m., officers from the Athens Police Department were dispatched to the Clem Jones Housing Complex on Walker Street following reports of a shooting. Inside one of the apartments, they discovered two people had been shot. A man, Tremon Hall, was found lying on the living room floor with gunshot wounds to his lower extremities; he was transported to a local hospital for treatment and was later released. Layla Long was found unresponsive in the hallway, having suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. Despite the efforts of first responders, she could not be saved and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Athens Police Department launched an intensive investigation into the double shooting. Detectives worked for days to piece together the events that led to the violence. Their investigation quickly led them to identify two suspects: Johnathan Lee Clayton of Riceville and Joseph Kibodeaux. On May 6, 2020, police obtained arrest warrants for both men, charging each with first-degree murder for Layla’s death and attempted first-degree murder for the shooting of Tremon Hall.

A search for the two men began immediately. That same evening, the Athens Police Department's SWAT team, with assistance from the Sweetwater Police Department and the 10th Judicial District Drug Task Force, located and apprehended Johnathan Clayton at a location in Sweetwater. Kibodeaux, however, remained at large for several more days. The search for him concluded on Sunday, May 10. Acting on information that Kibodeaux was at a residence on Breckenridge Street in Athens, officers secured a search warrant. At around 5 a.m., police surrounded the house and used a loudspeaker to order him to come outside. After some time, Joseph Kibodeaux exited the home and surrendered to authorities.

With both suspects in custody, their cases began the long journey through the McMinn County court system. Johnathan Clayton’s case concluded in August 2024, more than four years after the shooting. He reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, pleading guilty to the lesser charges of reckless homicide and aggravated assault. The original charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder were dismissed as part of the deal. Clayton was sentenced to serve six years in prison.

Joseph Kibodeaux’s case proceeded to a jury trial. In July 2025, a McMinn County jury found him guilty of the felony murder of Layla Long. Following the verdict, he was sentenced to life in the Tennessee Department of Corrections, with the possibility of parole. The conviction brought a definitive legal conclusion to his involvement in the fatal shooting that took place more than five years earlier.

The separate legal outcomes for the two men involved brought the case to a close. As of August 2025, both individuals responsible for the death of Layla Long and the assault on Tremon Hall have been sentenced for their roles in the crime. The investigation is now considered closed, having ended with the conviction and sentencing of both perpetrators.