JACKSON COUNTY – Special agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, working alongside the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Jackon County Sheriff’s Department, have arrested and charged a Macon County man accused of stabbing and killing 39-year-old Billie Ralph Harper III on Wednesday evening.

At the request of 13^th Judicial District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway, TBI agents began investigating the incident in the 700 block of Red Boiling Springs Highway in Clay County, where authorities found Harper deceased in a car.  During the investigation, agents determined Dustin Gene Hix (DOB 9/3/1986) stabbed Harper in Jackson County. The victim then drove to Clay County where he was found deceased.

Authorities subsequently arrested and charged Hix with First Degree Murder. He was booked into the Jackson County Jail with no bond.

The charges and allegations referenced in this release are merely accusations of criminal conduct and not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.