William David Phillips will face three charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of Sierra Wilson Cahoon, her son Nolan, and her unborn baby.
According to the arrest warrants, Phillips told authorities that he was compelled by a voice which “told him that he needed to go kill meth addicts, so he began driving very fast.”
At the wheel of his Chevy Impala in downtown Jefferson City, Phillips swerved onto the East Main Street sidewalk, striking 61-year-old Tillman Gunter. Police say Gunter is recovering from non-life threatening injuries.
Expectant mother Sierra Wilson Cahoon was not so fortunate. The voice “told [Phillips] that the baby stroller had meth in it, so he intentionally drove into (the mother and child) … killing them both,” the warrants continued, concluding that “this act was done with premeditation.”
The accused ended his spree by crashing into a fish hatchery, injuring an employee inside. Phillips is charged with one count of attempted murder in the first degree, and three counts of murder in the first degree for Sierra, Nolan, and her unborn child. He will face arraignment on Thursday.
Sierra and her children have left behind Matt Cahoon, an assistant athletic trainer at the Carson-Newman Christian school, less than a quarter mile from the place they were killed.
The university that hosts the school has established the Randall and Kay O’Brien Benevolent Fund to support the Cahoon family in the wake of this devastating loss. A GoFundMe has also been started for the same purpose and has raised over $44,000 as of the time of this writing.
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