Jury finds Michie man guilty of first degree murder in Shiloh stabbing

Terry Bradford Whitaker, 42, of Michie, was found guilty of first degree murder Monday in the stabbing death of Sidney Layne Burks in his recreational vehicle home in Shiloh on May 4, 2016.

An eyewitness to the stabbing testified a unique knife that was recovered was the murder weapon. The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Burks’ body said Burks had been stabbed 40 times, with five of those being potentially lethal wounds.

The trial in Hardin County presided over by Circuit Court Judge Creed McGinley began at 9 a.m. and included only five witnesses – all by the prosecution. The jury was released for deliberation at 3:30 p.m., after breaking an hour and 20 minutes for lunch.

The jury returned their verdict at 4:15 p.m.

See this week’s print edition on Nov. 8 for full coverage of the trial, including remarks from Burks’ mother and Assistant District Attorney General Vance Dennis, the lead prosecutor in the case.