Son Of Accused Killer Murdered
BEN GARRETT -- Independent Herald Staff
CLINTON - Authorities arenÕt commenting on the possibility of a connection between the death of a 17-year-old Clinton youth and the July murder in Scott County of Armando G. Loredo, for which the youthÕs sister and biological father have been charged.
Eric Autman Harness was fatally stabbed and a 14-year-old companion injured in a knife attack at a Clinton apartment complex on Wednesday (August 6). HarnessÕ biological father, Charles Ray Harvey, has been charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of 27-year-old Armando G. Loredo, of nearby Oak Ridge. Loredo was married to Vanessa Harvey Loredo, the daughter of Charles Ray Harvey and sister of Harness. Vanessa Loredo was also charged in connection with the shooting death of her husband.
The Independent Herald first learned of HarnessÕ death and his family connection to the two persons being held on first degree murder charges here during a Thursday morning telephone conversation with Scott County SheriffÕs Department Chief Detective Robbie Carson, who said it doesnÕt appear that retaliation was a motive in the killing.
ÒMy first thought was that it was retaliatory,Ó Carson said. ÒI have since learned that is not the case.Ó
The Clinton Police Department arrested two suspects shortly after the stabbing occurred but did not return repeated phone calls from the Independent Herald requesting a statement in regards to a possible connection between the two murders. A member of the victimÕs family who asked not to be identified said Monday that she had been instructed by the Attorney GeneralÕs Office (in Anderson County) not to talk about the case.
As of press time on Tuesday, Knoxville area news media had not reported the family connection of Harness to accused murderers Charles Ray Harvey and his daughter Vanessa Harvey Loredo, both of whom were scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing in Scott County on Wednesday.
The Independent Herald has learned that Vanessa Loredo was allowed to attend the funeral of her brother. She was escorted to Saturday nightÕs service at the Holley-Gamble Funeral Home in Lake City by Scott County Jail Administrator Mike Wilson and an unidentified female dispatcher.
ÒShe and her brother were really close,Ó said Chief Detective Carson. ÒHarvey (her father) threw a fit because he wasnÕt allowed to go,Ó he added.
Donald Scott Kimbrough, 18, of Harriman, and 17-year-old Shawn L. Hackler, of Clinton, were each charged with criminal homicide by Clinton Police. The two were apprehended at 4 a.m. Thursday, approximately six hours after the stabbing incident took place. They were found hiding in the garage of a Harriman residence owned by KimbroughÕs brother.
Josh Byrge, the 14-year-old who was wounded in the attack, reportedly told authorities that the four teens were playing video games in the Carriage Trace apartment where Harness resided with his mother, who was away from home when the incident occurred. Apparently, the two suspects attacked without warning. Harness was stabbed Òabout 20 times,Ó according to police reports, and Byrge was stabbed several times before the knife broke and he escaped to the kitchen of the apartment, where he is said to have grabbed a steak knife and chased the suspects from the residence.
Harness, who was about to enter his senior year at Clinton High School, was pronounced dead upon arrival at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge. Byrge was admitted to the hospital, where he remained in treatment for several days before being released.
The suspects had apparently escaped from KnoxvilleÕs Haslam Center, a minimum-security group home, about a week before the murder took place.
Harness was born October 15, 1985, in Oak Ridge. He resided in Robbins and attended Robbins Elementary School several years before transferring out of the county. He was last in Scott County on Wednesday, July 31, when he attended his sisterÕs (Vanessa LoredoÕs) arraignment at the Scott County Courthouse in Huntsville.
Harness is survived by his mother, Ruth Harness, of Clinton, and sisters Vanessa Loredo and Sonya Harvey.
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