Wife and Cousin Arrested for Alleged Murder of Army Veteran Found Bound and Shot in Apartment
Police say Amanda Bishop, the wife of Tennessee Army National Guard soldier Jacob Bishop, and her cousin Eric Byrd have been arrested. Jacob Bishop was found dead in his apartment in 2019 by his mother, having been shot, bound, and zip-tied.
A post on Facebook from the Loudon County Sheriff’s Department said the break in the murder case, which has been going on for five years, was made public on Wednesday.
Three nine-year-old girls, Amanda Bishop and Byrd, were caught by police in Kingston, Tennessee, on August 13. Court papers show that Amanda lives in Kingston. Byrd lives in the city of Lenoir. The Loudon County Detention Center is where they are both being held. An accusation that Law&Crime got shows that both are charged with first-degree murder. Everyone who is being charged has a $1 million bond.
Deputy Jimmy Davis of Loudon County said, “We hope that these arrests bring some peace to Jacob Bishop’s family and all those who have been affected by this senseless tragedy.”
Police say that in October 2019, 35-year-old Jacob Bishop came back to the U.S. after being stationed with the Army in Poland for a year.
Bishop’s mother talked about finding her son five months after he came back to the United States in an interview with Knoxville NBC station WBIR in 2021. She went to his apartment because she was worried. After all, he hadn’t answered her calls and found him tied up there.
“When you find your son dead on the floor in his apartment, it stays with you forever.” D. Bishop said, “It won’t go away.”
The case stayed open for years, and when WBIR stated that it had been two years since Bishop’s death, Jacob’s case was the only murder case in Loudon County that had not been solved in decades.
The man’s mother said Bishop was a nice and social person, and the cops agreed as they looked into the case. Detectives looked into about 400 possible suspects who had something to do with the soldier’s death.
No one said anything bad about him.
Shepherd Bishop’s mom told WBIR that she wouldn’t call her son “a saint,” but “he was a good man.”
At the time of his death, police said that Jacob Bishop and Amanda Bishop were fighting over who would have control of their children.
Local ABC station WATE interviewed the soldier’s brother Josh Bishop on Wednesday after police announced the arrests. He said that while he was glad for the news, it “doesn’t change nothing.”
“I still don’t have my brother.” My mom hasn’t had her kid yet. “But for the sake of justice, it’s good to know where they are so this doesn’t happen again,” he said.
His daughter, who is now 7 years old, lives on after him.
His brother Jacob Bishop said that he wanted his niece and everyone else to know that his brother loved his kids, his family, and his country.
“What I want is for his kids to know about their dad.” “There’s a 7-year-old girl who lost both her father and her mother,” Josh Bishop said.
Sheriff Jimmy Davis said Wednesday, “Today’s arrests are a very important step toward justice for Jacob Bishop and his family.” “Our office has kept this case at the top of its list of priorities, and I commend the detectives and partner agencies who have worked nonstop to bring those responsible to justice.”
When Law&Crime asked prosecutors for a response on Thursday, they did not respond right away.
Amanda Bishop and Byrd will both be in court again on August 19.