Suspects: Zachary Michael Howell

This suspect has been forwarded to the sheriff's tip line.

Several commenters have mentioned Zachary Michael Howell, who is shown on the sheriff's own Web page:

Deputies with the Knox County Sheriff's Office arrested a 19 year-old man for the rape of a 12 year-old girl on March 12, 2005. Zachary Michael Howell of Chartwell Road in Knoxville is charged with rape of a child and his bond is set at $50,000. According to the bond conditions, the suspect is to have no contact with the victim and is to stay off her property. The warrant states that the rape occurred at the suspect’s house.

Howell was on judicial diversion for a previous theft charge. He was also held in contempt of court for non-compliance.

Posted By Media Relations on 04/01/05 at 04:50 PM

For what it's worth, I don't personally think Howell is Johnia Berry's killer. The Knoxville sheriff's office arrested the guy in April of 2005 for rape. Presumably they've got Howell's DNA. We know they have a sample of the killer's DNA from Johnia Berry's apartment. Eight months later they would have made a match.