WHITE COUNTY – An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into a homicide in Sparta Monday morning has resulted in the arrest of a Pikeville man.

At the request of 13th Judicial District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway, on July 10th, TBI special agents began investigating a homicide reported in White County shortly after 8 a.m. In responding to a 911 call to a residence on Cherry Road, law enforcement officers found a woman, identified as Dara Jade Butler (DOB 02/24/1999), deceased inside the home. During the course of the investigation, agents identified Clayton Watson as the individual responsible for her death.

Late Monday afternoon, TBI agents, along with the White County Sheriff’s Office and the office of the 13th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office arrested Clayton Matthew Watson (DOB 03/15/1985) and charged him with one count of First Degree Murder. He was booked into the White County Jail on a bond of $1,000,000.