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Tennessee gas station clerk, 23, shot dead after texting pals about safety

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Tennessee gas station clerk, 23, shot dead after texting pals about safety


A 23-year-old Tennessee woman was shot dead at a convenience store where she worked the midnight shift only hours after she expressed safety concerns — and a father and son have been charged in her murder.

Tava Woodard, a clerk at the Roadrunner Market on North Broadway in Johnson City, texted friends and co-workers on June 2 about a shoplifting incident and said she wanted to find a new job, People reported.

A short time later, two masked men identified as Mark Sexton Jr., 41, and his son Mark Sexton III, 18, entered the store and stole money from her at gunpoint, WJHL reported.

“The two men then walked towards the door but as they were leaving, one of the men turned around and fired a shot from the pistol, striking Ms. Woodard,” according to an affidavit cited by the outlet.

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When police arrived eight minutes later, they found her body lying on the ground.

The officers found a 9mm shell casing and two blue nitrile gloves in a nearby alley, WJHL reported. The gloves matched the ones the suspects were seen wearing in the surveillance video.

Tava Woodard, 23, was shot dead during her midnight shift. Mark Sexton Jr., 41, and his son Mark Sexton III, 18, have been charged with murder.
Facebook / Kaylee Moore

Homicide victim Tava Woodard
“I’ve gotten so many messages and phone calls from people that cared about her, that talk about how wonderful she was and what a bright light she was for them,” Tava Woodard’s mother, Melissa Jones said.
Facebook / Tava Woodard

Another glove was found near the Sextons’ home about nine blocks away, according to the station.

After releasing screen grabs of the duo, police received tips that “one of the subjects appeared to be Mark Sexton Jr.,” according to an affidavit.

Workers at a nearby laundry business told investigators that Sexton Jr. and his wife had both worked there, and described garments and gloves from the store as matching those being worn by the suspects.

Police obtained a warrant and stopped a vehicle with an expired registration that the father drove off in with his wife and another person.

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Suspects seen on video
Mark Sexton Jr., 41, and his son Mark Sexton III, 18, have been charged with first-degree murder.
Johnson City Police Department

They later discovered scrubs and other clothing at the home that matched items seen in the convenience store video, as well as blue gloves and a 9mm round bearing the same stamp as the casing located at the scene.

Sexton Jr. was charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated robbery and driving an unregistered vehicle.

His son was charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, possession of a firearm during commission of a dangerous felony and tampering with evidence.

Woodard’s mother, Melissa Jones, told People about how her daughter felt about working at the Roadrunner Market.


Mark Sexton
Mark Sexton Jr. is charged with first-degree murder, especially aggravated robbery and driving an unregistered vehicle.
Washington County Detention Center

Mark Sexton III
18-year-old Mark Sexton III is charged with first-degree murder.
Washington County Detention Center

“She texted that she didn’t feel safe there anymore,” she said. “From what I’m hearing none of them were feeling very safe — this is all over the place so I’ll go ahead and say it. All of her co-workers have stated that the ‘panic button’ under the counter wasn’t working — and wasn’t even hooked up.”

The devastated mom said Woodard “had no chance of contacting anybody to help her” during the crime.

“What’s she going to do? Pick up her phone and make a phone call? And there’s no ‘panic button’ hooked up. What’s she supposed to do all by herself? I won’t get into specifics, but the police have told me that she was very calm, very composed, and that they were amazed at hearing how old she was and how well she maintained her composure and calmness,” Jones told the mag.

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She said the family has received an outpouring of support after her daughter’s death.

“I didn’t realize how huge of an impact she had on everybody else, too,”Jones told People.


Tava Woodard holding books
Woodard recently sent her sister Addie Blazer a meme that said, “If I die, don’t you dare release a bunch of balloons. I want you to plant flowers for me, so that I can continue to grow.”
Facebook / Kaylee Moore

“I’ve gotten so many messages and phone calls from people that cared about her, that talk about how wonderful she was and what a bright light she was for them. She always had a smile on her face and everybody just found so much comfort in being near her. … To know that the rest of the world saw that in her is just amazing,” she said.

Woodard recently sent her 15-year-old sister Addie Blazer a meme that said, “If I die, don’t you dare release a bunch of balloons. I want you to plant flowers for me, so that I can continue to grow,” the outlet reported.

The family is asking people to plant flowers “so that we can keep her alive and keep her with us,” her mom said.

Johnson City Police Chief Billy Church told WJHL: “In my almost 30 years of law enforcement experience, this case is one of the most heartbreaking that I’ve come across.”

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Tennessee

Will Levis, Tennessee Titans SHOCK C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans | NFL on FOX Pod

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Will Levis, Tennessee Titans SHOCK C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans | NFL on FOX Pod


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Dave Helman sits down to recap the Tennessee Titans’ shocking victory against the Houston Texans! Within the segment, Helman makes sure to praise the performance of Will Levis and questions what went wrong for C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans.

1 HOUR AGO・the nfl on fox podcast・3:54



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Childhelp delivers Thanksgiving food baskets to 200 families in East Tennessee

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Childhelp delivers Thanksgiving food baskets to 200 families in East Tennessee


KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Childhelp Tennessee spent Sunday afternoon delivering Thanksgiving food baskets to 200 families across Knoxville and East Tennessee as a part of the annual Thanksgiving Basket Brigade.

Chad Schollaert, a Childhelp board member, said the boxes primarily went to foster families, where there’s a greater need for donations.

“Foster children, a lot of times they’re not coming from a stable environment. So, having a Thanksgiving meal with a family is extremely important and so is just being able to show stability and family atmosphere,” Schollaert said.

Schollaert said an effort like this takes months of planning and coordinating both meals and volunteers ahead of the big day.

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“It’s been an effort for the last several months getting coordinating volunteers to deliver the meals, getting the meals. I know the staff here at Childhelp have been talking to board members and recruiting others to deliver the boxes,” Schollaert said.

Schollaert added that Childhelp is always looking for more volunteers because the more volunteers they have, the more children get help. He also said there are several other events and fundraising opportunities throughout the year. Click here for more information.



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Could the Tennessee Volunteers Host a First Round College Football Playoff Game?

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Could the Tennessee Volunteers Host a First Round College Football Playoff Game?


Could the Tennessee Volunteers end up hosting a first round college football playoff game?

After the loss to Georgia, it looked like Tennessee was going to need some help to get their way back into the playoff, and they got more than enough help on Saturday. Alabama lost to Oklahoma, Ole Miss lost to Florida and Indiana lost to Ohio State. Three teams that were ranked ahead of Tennessee opened up a playoff spot for them this week.

Not only did it get the Volunteers back into the playoffs, it might have put them in a position to host a first round playoff game. A few things would need to happen and a lot of it will depend on what happens during conference championship week, but it’s certainly a possibility.

The five-seed, the six-seed, the seven-seed and the eight-seed all get to host for the first round. As of right now, it looks like Notre Dame is going to take one of those slots. The winner of Texas A&M vs Texas plays Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and the loser of that might take one of those spots as well. An Oregon vs Ohio State rematch is looking likely for the Big 10 Conference Championship and you would have to imagine that the loser of that game would take a host spot as well. So as of right now, it’s looking like there might only be one host spot up for grabs in the playoffs and Tennessee very well could be the team to snag it as an eighth seed.

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More clarity will be provided about this when the rankings are released this Tuesday but the Volunteers had a very successful weekend of college football, needless to say.

Make sure to follow our website Tennessee on SI.



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