Friday, November 1, 2024 (Kingston, TN) – On Friday in Roane County Criminal Court Shane Douglas Parks (44 YOM) pled guilty to kidnapping and second-degree murder for his role, along with others, in beating and hog-tying Quenton McCullough then taking him from Rockwood to an abandoned single wide trailer in the Oakdale area of Morgan County where he was left to die. McCullough’s body was not found until December 2020.

The investigation began as a missing person report that McCullough’s family submitted. Detective Greg Scalf of the Roane County Sheriff’s Office questioned multiple persons in Roane County to attempt to ascertain McCullough’s whereabouts without success. A tip finally led RCSO Investigators Art Wolff and John Mayes to the trailer in Oakdale where the severely decomposed body of McCullough was discovered decomposing in a closet. The scene indicated that McCullough had been “hog-tied” by drawing a rope around his hands and feet behind his back and a gag placed in his mouth. They transported the remains to the Knox County Regional Forensic Center for an autopsy that revealed he may have been strangled.

The original tip to law enforcement identified Parks, Joshua Aikens, and one other person as being potentially responsible for the murder. Over time the investigation turned up several persons who gave statements to the effect that Mr. McCullough was assaulted at the home of the third person in Rockwood, Tennessee. At some point, he was restrained by ropes as described and transported in the back of an SUV to the trailer in Oakdale.

The inconsistent statements of the defendants and witnesses made it difficult to determine if he died before or after he was transported. In any event, he died as a result of the assault and the restraint ropes that caused the strangulation. Furthermore, it was developed that the assault was likely the consequence of an ‘offer of a reward’ made by others to anyone who would “break his fingers” as retribution for a theft alleged to have been committed by McCullough.

Joshua Aikens has already pled guilty to his role in the homicide and received a life sentence. He is presently serving that sentence in the Tennessee Department of Corrections where Shane Parks will also serve his sentence which consists of two 45-year sentences that will run concurrently.

Assistant District Attorneys Bob Edwards and Jonathan Edwards prosecuted this case for Russell Johnson’s District Attorney General’s Office. ADA Bob Edwards handled the plea and sentencing hearing. Judge Jeff Wicks presided over the hearing. Attorney Kit Rodgers represented the defendant, Shane Parks.