Man charged with killing, burning mother
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Charged with second-degree murder is Gordon Ellis, 34, of Cressent Drive, Cookeville. Dead is his mother, Yurdamur Akovali, 72, a woman of Turkish descent.
DeKalb County Sheriff Lloyd Emmons said early indications are the woman was killed when she was struck in the head with a fire extinguisher following an argument with Ellis over property in Oak Ridge.
“When the son entered the house they got into a fight. Apparently it started with fists and he knocked his mother down and hit her in the head with a fire extinguisher,” Emmons said.
The body was brought to the Austin Bottoms area of DeKalb County (near the Putnam County line), set on fire, and found about 4:28 p.m. Friday.
“In part of his statement, he said he was going to chop the body up to further conceal the crime but the fire was so hot he was unable to do so,” Emmons said.
The story began to unfold after Knox County authorities received a missing persons report Sunday on Akovali from a daughter. DeKalb County officials were notified and after comparing notes, the case began to come together for authorities.
“Since we had possession of the body we went ahead and tracked down her dentist who was in Oak Ridge and early Monday I went to Oak Ridge to get her dental records and then I met with a forensic dentist about 1 p.m. and he did make a preliminary confirmation it was Mrs. Akovali,” Emmons said.
Ellis was brought in for questioning by Knox County authorities Monday morning and, according to Emmons, made a “full confession.”
The sheriff said Ellis was in the process of moving to Oak Ridge and he and his mother had been involved in a “long-standing feud.”
As for where the body was brought and set ablaze, the sheriff said “it was just a place he picked out. He has lived in Cookville for some time and it’s a place he was familiar with so he brought the body here and burned it and I’m sure that was an attempt to conceal the crime.”
All indications are Ellis was busy on the roadways over the weekend. In fact, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, in a routine stop, pulled Ellis over on Interstate 40 in Smith County at mile marker 255 between the Gordonsville and Alexandria exits. At the time, the THP was unaware he was a possible murder suspect and Ellis was charged with possession of a Schedule VI drug and possession of drug paraphernalia. Emmitt Eugene Randolph, 68, of Antioch, who was with Ellis, was charged with possession of a legend drug without a prescription.
“We believe once he disposed of the body he went back to Knoxville, then left Knoxville, went to Nashville, and Sunday was stopped in Smith County by the THP,” Emmons said. After that traffic stop, Ellis “went back to Cookeville and got a ride to Knoxville late Sunday night and authorities picked him up early Monday morning.”