UPDATE - Tennessee DNA Legislation

Around 9:30pm on Friday, TN State Representative Steve Godsey called Joan Berry and invited her to listen in as the House opened the floor for a vote on House Bill 2649. The outcome was unanimous -- the House voted in favor of moving forward with the DNA legislation that will help in the fight against violent crimes.

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Joan Berry and other members of Johnia's family travelled to Nashville yesterday as the Senate weighed in on the state's DNA legislation and the action needed to bolster its current form.

The journey was not made in vain. In a first step at adding required DNA testing for persons arrested on charges of violent crimes, the Senate unanimously approved to add DNA technicians across the state in effort to diminish the backlog of current DNA samples.

WJHL in Johnson City aired the story. See it here.

Read about the story in the Knoxville News Sentinel here.

The Senate also has the session archived at its website here.

(To view the stream, click on Senate in the column on the left and then click on Video Streaming. From here you'll be able to choose the date of the session you'd like to watch.)

Joan Berry radio interview

Joan Berry will be interviewed this Sunday morning at 6:30am on the following Knoxville stations:

WJXB B-97.5
Jack FM 95.7
WIMZ 103.5

WNFZ 94.3 will air the interview at 6:00am.

Driver That Killed Lyons Was Speeding

From the Knoxville News-Sentinel:

A vehicle that collided with and killed a Knox County Sheriff's Office assistant chief was racing another car at the time and traveling at least 95 mph on Schaad Road, the sheriff said Wednesday.

The 11:15 p.m. May 9 crash killed 18-year KCSO veteran Keith Lyon. Lyon, 42, was assistant chief deputy and had met before the wreck with some investigators about a theft case, said Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison.

Lyon was eastbound on Schaad Road in a department-issued Ford Expedition when an oncoming Volkswagen Jetta crossed into Lyon's lane of traffic.

The impact also killed the Jetta driver, Armin Hadrovic, 20. A passenger in the Jetta, Arnis Hadrovic, 18, was treated at a hospital and has since been released.

"It appears they were racing to work with a co-worker," Hutchison said. "It appears the minimum speed of the Volkswagen was 95 mph.

"So if you wondered why it stopped that huge vehicle in its tracks, that's why."

While investigators are able to determine a minimum speed for the crash, the sheriff noted the actual impact speed could be even higher.

The impact on the narrow, two-lane road was so vicious it ripped the engine from the Jetta and left it lying on the pavement. In addition, the front of the Expedition burst into flames.

Authorities said it appears both drivers died quickly at the scene.

Thanks to Wolf Pack Ledger for the link to the story.

Previously: Car Crash Kills Lead Investigator in Johnia's Murder

CNN Mother's Day Special Program

Joan Berry and four other mothers will be on a CNN special program highlighting mothers of murdered or missing children. The show will air Friday, May 12 on CNN Headline News at 8pm et.

Car Crash Kills Lead Investigator in Johnia's Murder

WATE:

An automobile crash claimed the lives of two people late Tuesday night. One of the victims was 42-year-old Knox County Sheriff's Assistant Chief Deputy Keith Lyon, the lead investigator on the Johnia Berry murder case.

...

Lyon's brother, Narcotics Division Capt. Bernie Lyon, tells 6 News he was a great man who worked very hard for the sheriff's office and his community.

Lyon was working to solve the murder of Johnia Berry, who was stabbed to death at her West Knox County apartment in December 2004. No suspects have ever been arrested.

Lyon's brother says he was very passionate about finding Berry's killer. He interviewed thousands of people and logged thousands of hours on the investigation.

Lyon served a little over 18 years with the Knox County Sheriff's Office. He began his career there in July 1988 as a correctional officer. He was promoted to jail sergeant in 1991, jail lieutenant in 1993 and jail captain in 1995.

In 1996, Lyon was promoted to assistant chief deputy of administration, and then to assistant chief deputy in 1997.

Lyon graduated from the state Law Enforcement Training Academy in Donelson and received his POST certification in December 1990. He was commander of the Hazardous Devices Team.

Four times, Lyon received Officer of the Month, twice in 1995 and twice in 2001. He was commander of the first Special Operations Response Team in 1991.

Lyon also helped organize a relief effort following Hurricane Katrina. He helped arrange a trip with 11 officers to the Gulf Coast region of Harrison County, Mississippi in October. The officers took their own vacation time and brought three truckloads of donated building materials.

My sympathies to Deputy Lyon's family, and to the family of the other driver killed in the crash.

Local Coverage of Petition

The Knoxville News-Sentinel and WATE are drawing attention to the petition asking Knox County Sheriff Tim Hutchison to cooperate with "America's Most Wanted" to bring attention to Johnia's case.

Online Petitions

America's Most Wanted Petition

Copy and paste this link to send to others.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/AMWSupportTN/

TN's DNA Petition

Copy and paste this link to send to others.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/TNDNALegislation/

Note: USA Today has posted a story about DNA profiling here.