johnia berry

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- A local businessman who called in a tip to the Knox County Sheriff's Office about the Johnia Berry murder case is disappointed with the way his call was handled.

Berry was stabbed to death at her West Knox County apartment in December 2004.

The tipster, Mike Lowery, is a senior vice president at a local bank and didn't know much about the case until he saw a billboard about it.

When he looked again, the sketch of the suspect hit a nerve. It looked like someone he used to work with.

"He looks just like him. It's like you took a picture of him and put it on this. That's what had me freaked out," Lowery said.

Lowery did some digging and came up with red flags. He says the young man he once worked with lived 2.8 miles from Johnia's apartment at the time of the crime, was in his early 20's and requested an out-of-state transfer just five months after the murder, asking first to move to Denver, where Johnia's roommate, who survived being stabbed, lives.

Lowery says he called the sheriff's office to leave a tip on July 10 but he says no one called back until 17 days later, on July 27.

The caller identified himself as the lead detective on the case, Brad Hall.

Lowery saved the voice mail, which says, "I was wanting to see if you could provide me with some more information about Mr. ____, Social Security number, date of birth, something like that. It would help me out tremendously."

"I called him back, left a message again and never heard back from him until just this week when I followed up again to see if they had looked into it," Lowery says.

He also says it's against company policy to provide employee Social Security numbers and the sheriff's office should've known it could subpoena the information.

Lowery says he did give many other details, though. "I provided as much information as I could, like where he lived, that it was two miles away, that he moved out of the state five months after the murder, talked about moving to Denver then moved to Massachusetts. I provided them with where he lives now. "

6 News contacted the sheriff's office for a response. Sheriff J.J. Jones released this statement:

"We have and will continue to encourage the public to provide us with tips on the Johnia Berry case or any other criminal investigation. We actively investigate each one, no matter how little information is provided. We receive hundreds of tips and time is given to each one."

Lowery called the sheriff's office to follow up earlier this week and says Detective Hall told him he'll have to talk to the sheriff to see what to do next.

As for asking for the Social For the first time since their daughter was killed almost three years ago, the parents of Johnia Berry faced the man accused of killing her in a Knox County courtroom Tuesday morning as he was arraigned on murder charges.

Taylor Lee Olson, 22, of Knoxville made no comment during his arraignment before Knox County Criminal Court Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz other than to say he has one child. Leibowitz set a March 3 trial date for Olson, who didn't enter a formal plea and remained jailed in lieu of $1 million bond.

Berry, 21, an East Tennessee State University graduate from Bristol, was stabbed to death in her West Knox County apartment Dec. 6, 2004. Her then-roommate, Jason Aymami, was injured in the attack. DNA evidence from Berry, Aymami and an unidentified third person was found at the scene.

Knox County Sheriff Jimmy "J.J." Jones has said Olson voluntarily gave a DNA sample in July when he was arrested for violating his probation from an earlier harassment case, but authorities have refused to confirm that Olson's DNA matched that found at the crime scene.

Authorities have declined to discuss details of the case or explain why they believe Olson, a petty criminal with a history of theft and harassment offenses but no overtly violent crimes, allegedly stabbed Berry to death while burglarizing her apartment.

On Tuesday, Joan and Mike Berry watched quietly from the courtroom's front row as officers led in the man who is alleged to have killed their daughter. Johnia Berry's biological father, John Tiller, sat next to his wife and 14-year-old daughter in the rear corner.

Olson was initially represented by Knox County Public Defender Mark Stephens but hired attorney Gregory P. Isaacs during the hearing.

Leibowitz barred cameras from the courtroom, citing a rule that photography and video requests must be made 48 hours before a hearing. Isaacs asked Leibowitz to issue a gag order, but the judge declined.

"We think we're going to have trouble getting a jury at the rate publicity is going in this case," Isaacs said.

Isaacs later said he wanted prosecutors, police and others involved in the case to agree to a gag order to ensure that both sides get a fair trial.

Olson also made an appearance in General Sessions court to answer burglary charges stemming from an unrelated incident. He didn't enter a plea, and his court date was reset to Nov. 20.

Olson's only public statements thus far came after he was charged Monday when he told reporters he was "sorry" and claimed Berry's death was an accident.

Isaacs issued a statement Tuesday afternoon asking that the media respect the privacy of Olson's relatives. He also said Olson "doesn't want to try this case in the court of public opinion" and declined to answer questions about Olson's background.

In a move that might foreshadow legal battles to come, Isaacs said he plans to conduct "a comprehensive investigation regarding both the factual allegations and the circumstances surrounding his arrest, including the references to the allegations of the voluntary collection of DNA evidence."

Isaacs also addressed the statements Olson made to the media on Monday in which Olson appeared to admit at least some involvement in Berry's slaying.

"We intend to review the questions and comments made during the 'perp walk' carefully," Isaacs said. "It was unfortunate that Mr. Olson was bombarded by microphones, cameras and questions without the ability to meaningfully respond. At this point, it appears unclear as to what response was addressed to the multitude of questions that were being shouted by the news media."

Berry's parents, however, said Tuesday they were skeptical of Olson's claim that her death wasn't intentional.

Tiller said after the arraignment he felt nothing but anger when Olson entered the room. "I wanted to hurt him," Tiller said. "I wanted to put my hands on him. How can you stab somebody 27 times by accident?"

Joan Berry said it was "no secret" her daughter was stabbed "over 20 times."

"It was a brutal murder," she said. "Everybody needs to remember how brutally murdered she was. We need to remember how she died. It wasn't an easy death."

Authorities have declined to confirm the number of stab wounds Berry suffered. John Gill, special counsel for Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols, said reports about the nature of her wounds should be treated with skepticism.

"Don't trust anything until you hear it in court," he said.

Gill also said the several people who provided tips that led to Olson's arrest might be eligible to collect part of the $70,000 reward money that was offered in the case. He declined to identify the people who provided information or to discuss what they told authorities.