Update: Amy Latus / Knoxville, TN
Kris Baker
This is a repost, for archival purposes. Apparently the OP did
not want it to be archived under their name?
Kris
>Knoxville News Sentinel, Friday Sept 06, 2002
>by Randy Kenner
>
>An ex-convict who left town just before the body of a Knoxville
>woman he had been dating was discovered near his home has been
>charged with second-degree murder.
>
>Ronald Lee Ball, 40, was charged with the murder of 37 year old
>Amy Latus in a presentment returned by a Knox County Grand Jury
>last week but was not served on Ball until Wednesday.
>
>Ball has been held in the Knox Co Jail on a probation revocation
>petition since Knox Co Sheriff's deputies - who were tracking him
>down - arranged to have him pulled off a bus in Lawrence Co, AR
>on July 27.
>
>At the time Ball, who was wanted on a probation violation here
>and was apparently in the process of jumping bond in Alabama, was
>on his way to Montana.
>
>Latus, a Kimberly Clark employee who had lived in Knoxville for
>about a year, was reported missing in early July.
>
>Her body, covered with rocks and dirt, was discovered three weeks
>later in a wooded area near where Ball had lived. She had been
>strangled.
>
>Ball quickly became a suspect in Latus' death and Sheriff Tim
>Hutchison indicated that Ball had been dating Latus and another
>woman at the same time. He said that Latus had loaned Ball money
>and obtained financing for his new truck.
>
>Ball's attorney, Russell Greene, said Thursday he was aware Ball
>was going to be charged in connection with Latus slaying. But he
>said he was surprised at the charge.
>
>"I'm kind of curious why it's second-degree (murder) instead of
>first-degree," Green said Thursday before adding that everything
>that he heard led him to believe that a first-degree murder
>charge was coming.
>
>"Obviously, that says a lot about the kind of case they have, or
>lack of a case," Greene said.
>
>Ball was being held here for allegedly violating his probation on
>a 2001 drunken driving conviction by driving on a revoked license
>earlier this month.
>
>The 11-month and 29 day sentence on probation was to run until
>December of this year.
>
>Knox Co Sessions Judge Chuck Cerny, however, revoked Ball's
>probation Thursday after hearing Deputy Steve Robinson's
>testimony that he stopped Ball while he was driving on the
>revoked license on July 16.
>
>Cerney ordered Ball to serve the sentence in jail.
>
>"There is no other decision to be made," Cerney said.
>
>That will keep Ball in jail for at least the next nine months
>while prosecutors prepare the murder case against him.
>
>Randy Kenner may be reached at 865-342-6305 or ken...@knews.com.
>
Lemonbleu
Why is this being charged as 2nd degree and not 1st degree Murder..??
LB
Keeper of the Lovely and Talented Two-Robert Downey Jr and Hugh Grant, Sooo I
like a little drama..Laughing and Worrying..
InsanelyBusy
>
My theory about this case is that Amy followed the dirtbag to the other woman's
house and confronted him about his cheating there. I think she may have
threatened to either call in her loans to him or cut off the financial support,
and so he killed her. Not being a really smart guy, thought, and given that Amy
was a large woman, he took the path of least resistance and buried her "out
back". Now that he has been charged, hopefully the trial will follow and the
facts will come out then. If I hear anything, I'll post it.
Thank you, Samantha, for posting the follow up on this. I'll email you. :)
Marianna
It's good to talk. It's extra good to laugh.
-L. Staples