Teen accused of killing woman, 7-year-old grandson with hammer, police find 'puddles' of blood

GREENE COUNTY, Tenn. (TCD) -- A 16-year-old faces murder charges after a 59-year-old woman and her 7-year-old grandson were found dead outside the woman’s home in April.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, on April 25 around midnight, Greene County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a home on the 7100 block of Old Snapps Ferry Road about a report of a double homicide. Deputies found Sherry Cole and her grandson Jessie Allen deceased at the scene. A juvenile was later identified as a suspect and taken into custody.

WJHL-TV reports the teen, whose name was not released, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He’s currently in custody at a juvenile detention center, but the 3rd Judicial District Attorney General Dan Armstrong wants to try him as an adult. According to WJHL, Armstrong believes the "severity of the crime and the gruesomeness of it" makes the teen eligible for a trial in a regular court.

WJHL reports the suspect allegedly told investigators he used a hammer to kill Cole and Allen and that he planned it ahead of time.

According to court documents cited by WBIR-TV, a 25-year-old and 35-year-old reportedly witnessed the attack. At the scene, investigators found "puddles of blood" and "assorted tools, some of which were covered in blood."

A transfer hearing for the suspect is scheduled for Aug. 23.

Allen was a student at Fall Branch School, and principal Dr. Jim Wernke told WJHL, "Jessie was a very happy student. He loved Fall Branch School. He loved the teachers here, and our teachers loved him."

Wernke added, "This was really a home away from his home."

Students at the school have also been drawing and writing cards to Allen's grandpa and Cole's husband, Bill Cole.

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