Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Fifty-three year-old Elsie Egan of Marion County, Florida is particular about her menu. So particular, in fact, that she used a raw steak to beat some sense into her long-time boyfriend Peter on Tuesday for disagreeing about what type of bread the couple would have at dinner. Elsie wanted Peter to eat sliced bread, while Peter wanted rolls. He should have just settled for the sliced bread. Apparently the disagreement became heated and Elsie began hitting Peter on top of the head with an uncooked medium-sized steak. Egan denies wielding the deadly steak but does admit to slapping Peter several times so that he could learn the error of his ways. She is facing felony domestic abuse charges.

For purposes of classifying this conduct in Tennessee, it would be necessary to determine if a steak was considered a deadly weapon. Domestic abuse is punished equivalent to assault in Tennessee and assault with a deadly weapon is classified as aggravated assault. Red meat, while linked to heart disease and various other maladies, may not be the type of deadly weapon contemplated by the Tennessee statute, but it is debatable. The definition of deadly weapon in Tennessee includes “[a]nything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury,” which technically means that if you used a steak to beat someone to death it might be considered a deadly weapon. That seems to be the way it was interpreted by the Florida authorities which led to the felony domestic abuse charges against Ms. Egan.

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Under present law, first degree murder in Tennessee is:
• A premeditated and intentional killing of another;
• A killing of another committed in the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate any first degree murder, act of terrorism, arson, rape, robbery, burglary, theft, kidnapping, aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child or aircraft piracy; or
• A killing of another committed as the result of the unlawful throwing, placing or discharging of a destructive device or bomb.

Senate Bill 1093 expands first degree murder as homicide crimes in Tennessee by including within the actions that constitute first degree murder the killing of another while committing domestic abuse if there was a past pattern of abuse upon the victim or another family or household member and the death occurs under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life.

Under Tennessee domestic abuse law, domestic abuse victims include:
• Adults or minors who are current or former spouses;
• Adults or minors who live together or who have lived together;
• Adults or minors who are dating or who have dated or who have or had a sexual relationship,
• Adults or minors related by blood or adoption;
• Adults or minors who are related or were formerly related by marriage.

To constitute extreme indifference to human life, the defendant’s conduct must be so lacking in concern for the lives of others that it warrants the same criminal liability as if the crime was done for the purpose of taking life.

If charged with first degree murder, you are facing the most severe punishments available under Tennessee law. Sentences can include life in prison or even the death penalty. This is why you will want a skilled attorney who has had considerable success in defending people who have been accused of this most serious crime. Call the experienced Knoxville assault attorneys today at Baker Associates for a free and comprehensive case evaluation.

Most people believe that domestic assault involves violence between husbands and wives. However, under Tennessee law, Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-111, domestic assault is much more than that.

Domestic assault in Knoxville follows most of the same guidelines as general assault, found in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-101. General assault can be broken down into three separate actions: (1) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing physical injury to another; (2) intentionally or knowingly causing another to be fearful of physical injury; and (3) intentionally or knowingly causing contact with another that would be considered extremely offensive or provocative.

Domestic assault involves all of these same criteria. The difference between general assault and domestic assault is that under domestic assault the individuals involved have specific relationships to one another. Domestic assault can be between a number of different groups, including: husbands and wives, former spouses, persons who live together, persons who are dating, sexual partners, and blood relatives. If an act that would be classified as assault occurs between individuals with one of these relationships, that offense can then be classified as domestic assault.

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