Man charged with murder in Smokies church slaying
ASHEVILLE — A federal grand jury has indicted a man on a first-degree murder count in a violent March slaying inside a church in the Smokies that court papers indicate may have been fueled by a love dispute.
Forrest Dakota Hill, 22, was indicted on the charge in the stabbing death of Tyler Gaddis, 25, of Whittier, who was found inside Smokemont Baptist Church on March 29 off U.S. 441 north of Cherokee.
A medical examiner's report found the victim was stabbed 19 times.
The charge alleges Hill killed Gaddis "willfully, deliberately, maliciously and with premeditation."
The crime occurred on the Cherokee Indian Reservation and was investigated by the FBI.
Court documents state that at 2:50 a.m. March 29, the Cherokee Indian Police Department received a 911 call from someone who identified himself as Raven York. The caller stated a male had been stabbed and was bleeding at the church. Police as well as Cherokee Indian EMS responded and determined Gaddis was deceased. Police notified the National Park Service, who dispatched law enforcement rangers to the scene.
The next day, March 30, Jonathan Scott Hill came to police and stated he was present when Gaddis was stabbed and also admitted to being the 911 caller, using a false name. It is not clear if Jonathan Hill and Forrest Hill are related. Jonathan Hill told police that Forrest Hill was upset with Gaddis because Gaddis was talking negatively about him to others on the reservation, court documents state. Documents later detail a dispute involving a woman.
Forrest Hill told Jonathan Hill, among other things, "He is going to get his" and "I'm really hated about this," according to documents.
The two then allegedly picked up Gaddis in the Birdtown area of the Cherokee Reservation the night of March 28.
All three went to the church, where Forrest Hill "repeatedly stabbed him with a knife" in the doorway under the bell tower area of the church, documents state. It's not clear why they went to the church.
The knife is described as similar to a mini maglight flashlight with a blade that can be attached. The knife blade broke off during the stabbing and remained inside the body, according to statements Forrest Hill made to Jonathan Hill, documents state.
After the stabbing, Forrest Hill, "slammed (Gaddis) down to make sure he was dead," documents state. Forrest Hill threw the handle of the knife from the vehicle after they left the church. After Jonathan Hill called 911 from Gaddis' phone, Forrest Hill broke the phone and threw it from the car window, documents state. Investigators would later recover the phone.
Forrest and Jonathan Hill traveled to a carwash on the Cherokee Reservation, where he cleaned off his shoes and disposed of bloody paper bags, according to the complaint. Then they drove to Harrah's Cherokee Casino and picked up Forrest Hill's girlfriend. They told her about the slaying, according to the complaint.
Later, the two men traveled to an unspecified place in the Big Cove area of the Cherokee Reservation, where they burned the clothes they were wearing at the time of the killing. Jonathan Hill told investigators the location of the burn pit, and investigators would later recover ashes there.
Later that day, all three then traveled to the Chestnut Tree Inn on the reservation. There, Jonathan Hill flattened the tires of the vehicle they were traveling in before contacting law enforcement, the complaint states.
Forrest Hill told his girlfriend he was upset because Gaddis had been talking about him, and told her of his plans to assault him, the complaint says.
Forrest Hill initially denied knowing Gaddis and also initially told investigators he was with his girlfriend the night in question at the casino.
Investigators recovered a black metal handle matching the description of the knife, which tested positive for the presence of suspected blood evidence, court papers say.
Documents reference another witness, who told investigators that Forrest Hill and his girlfriend confessed to their involvement in the slaying. According to the witness, who is not named in court documents, "Jonathan Hill cried at the scene because Gaddis was begging him to help him while he was being stabbed." The witness also told investigators that the girlfriend assisted with attempting to clean the car of blood, the documents allege.
A motion was filed Thursday in federal court to continue the trial to Feb. 22.
Gaddis was a native of Jackson County, according to his obituary. He attended Cherokee High School, according to his Facebook page.