Cookeville, TN – While conducting a parallel investigation, detectives with the Cookeville Police Department discovered a murder-for-hire plot targeting a local resident of Cookeville. As a result of this discovery, the Putnam County Grand Jury returned indictments against Johnny Murray (45) and Mitchell Skinner (67) for Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder.

On November 11, 2025, members of the Cookeville Police Department Criminal Investigations Division traveled to Johnston County, North Carolina, to locate Mitchell Skinner. On November 12, 2025, Skinner was located and arrested by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office. He is currently in their custody awaiting extradition back to Putnam County, TN, to face his charges of Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder.
On November 22, 2025, Cookeville Police Department officers, with assistance from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, arrested Johnny Murray. Murray was served with the Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder indictment and booked into the Putnam County Jail, where he was not given a bond.

As this investigation is ongoing, the Cookeville Police Department will not be releasing the identity of the victim or additional investigative details at this time. There is no estimated timeline for when the case will be concluded.