Bishop murder remains unsolved

Natalie McQuilkin news-herald.net

A wide pool of leads have been pursued in the three months since the murder of 35-year-old Jacob Dean Bishop in Lenoir City.

On Oct. 1, 2019, Loudon County Sheriff’s Office received a call about an “unconscious and unresponsive” male on Shaw Ferry Road North in Lenoir City.

The LCSO patrol division received the call at 7:43 a.m. from Loudon County E-911 dispatchers. Loudon County Sheriff Tim Guider said Bishop’s mother had found his body.

Bishop was physically bound and shot multiple times, according to an LCSO release.

“Once patrol deputies arrived on scene, it was quickly determined that foul play was involved and that the male was a victim of a homicide,” the LCSO release said.

Few leads were found in the days following the murder, but Guider said witnesses confirmed seeing a white SUV in the area several days leading up to the murder and leaving the area on the day of Bishop’s death.

“In regards to the SUV that is a vehicle of interest, we can now say that we are confident we are looking for a white, late model, GMC Yukon or a Chevrolet Tahoe,” the LCSO release said. “The SUV is thought to be somewhere between a 2015 and 2019.”

LCSO expressed a need for help from the public in determining potential suspects.

Months later, Guider said other evidence regarding Bishop’s “technological data” has led to new leads beyond the white SUV.

“During the initial hours of the investigation into the murder of Jacob Bishop, a series of search warrants were executed for available technological data associated to Mr. Bishop as well as other data that was available surrounding the area of the crime,” Guider said in an email correspondence. “The information from the multiple search warrants is continuing to become available and is providing valuable sources for leads that are the subject of inquiry by the (Criminal Investigations Division).”

In October, Guider said CID was examining evidence from the crime lab. Law enforcement has pursued more than 300 leads in the past three months.

Though the number of suspects is large, Guider believes they are a step closer to solving the murder.

“As more leads are developed and eliminated the focus of the investigation becomes more and more narrow and we are confident that will lead to the responsible party or parties for the murder of Jacob Bishop,” Guider said.

Bishop was a Tennessee Army National Guard soldier and had returned from a long deployment in Poland a few months before being murdered, an LCSO release said.

The case remains an ongoing investigation.

“This case is, of course, one of (my) top priorities and is being aggressively pursued using all available resources of the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office as well as using the resources available from other agencies in the pursuit for justice in the murder of Jacob Bishop,” Guider said.