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Subscribe to RSSA tattoo artist in Tennessee was arrested Friday for allegedly murdering, then decapitating his adoptive father.
Henry James Baxter, 37, was charged with criminal homicide in the death of Erman Thompson, 49, the man who raised him. Baxter also allegedly was sleeping with Thompson's wife.
Police say Baxter confessed to killing Thompson and then decapitating the body before dumping it in a field near their home.
“During the argument, Mr. Baxter said he retrieved a pistol, shot the victim in the head, then took the body and placed it in a large trash can behind the home,” Metro Police Spokesman Don Aaron told NewsChannel5.com.
“On Monday night, according to Baxter, he retrieved the body from the trash can, borrowed a shovel, and in the cover of darkness decapitated the body,” Aaron said.
Henry Baxter, 37, is charged with criminal homicide for allegedly murdering, then decapitating his adoptive father in Tennessee last week.
Police believe Baxter wheeled the trash can to a nearby field, then dumped the body. A mail carrier on his lunch break discovered Thompson's decomposing corpse, which was later identified by tattoos. When police when to Baxter's address, he confessed to killing Thompson the previous Sunday.
Thompson’s wife, Ashly Thompson, said he began taking care of Baxter when he was a child. Baxter lived with Thompson, Ashly and three children – one of whom was fathered by Baxter. Police investigators suspect the two men were fighting over Ashly.
Police said Baxter told Ashly that her husband had abandoned the family.
Neighbor Gina Eubanks found Thompson's head and told NBC affiliate WSMV in Nashville that it came “rolling out” of a trash can when she went to take out the garbage.
“I’m angry, very, very angry and sad at the same time,” Ashly Thompson said. “I think the worst part of this is telling my kids they don’t have a daddy no more.”
Baxter is currently being held on $750,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court for the first time Wednesday.
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Leave a Comment:
W O W ........
Is that what Ashley has tattooed on her butt?
"When police when to Baxter's address, he confessed to killing Thompson the previous Sunday."
I believe that the word they (the NBC News Staff)were looking for was went. WENT
Who cares if he's a tattoo artist? Is this your attempt to further sensationalize an already Lurid story? Tattooing is now mainstream honey. It didn't belong in the headline.
Cue up the banjo!
Fine, upstanding trailer park trash family. Highly educated, as well. I feel sorry for the man who was murdered for having such a tramp for a wife.
But, daddy is my brother?? Uhhh... brother is my daddy?? Uhhh.. oh heck who knows who daddy is.
@Bluesman: It's Tennessee not West Virginia. I think they only play the spoons in Tennessee.
"Baxter lived with Thompson, Ashly and three children – one of whom was fathered by Baxter.... “I’m angry, very, very angry and sad at the same time,” Ashly Thompson said. “I think the worst part of this is telling my kids they don’t have a daddy no more.”
Which kids don't have a daddy? The murderers brothers and sisters or the child he fathered with you? Oh, right, all of them I suppose.
Who on earth would continue living with a woman who banged his adopted son, or an adopted son who knocked up his wife anyway?
Hummm, certainly no good reason to loose your head over a woman!! :)
Maybe this was a "bad" one?
Did ANYONE notice the ages of the of the adoptive father and son? Killer son is 37? Dead father is 49? WTF? How old were they when he was adopted? Sounds to me like they are/were a bunch of inbred hillbillies. And did you all notice the picture of Baxter? He's 37? I'm 47 and he looks ten to fifteen years older than me. What a wonderful family.
First off, Wow! What a family.
pjam09 - The article said one of the children was fathered by Baxter, but didn't say who the mother is, so there could be yet another person in this tangled web.
In any case, this is one very screwed up bunch.
It's a good thing that the adoptive father was not black then it would be a hate crime ....right?
They should have left the picture out of the headline. Takes the phrase, "bumping uglies" to a whole new image.
An American version of Oedipus Rex, or... sharper than a serpent's tooth....etc... Or, what you will.
That 'tattooing is mainstream' is a matter of opinion. Not everyone buys into every fad that comes along. Some of us still believe that tattooing is the province of drunken sailors and bikers.
Besides, it's the guy's occupation and that makes it relevant to the story.
GibsonLP, The banjo part was a metaphor. I should have written dulcimer. ;o)
No BillyMike, it specifically says that she is the mother of all of the children and Baxter is the father of one of them, if you read the whole article you would have seen that.
holey crap batman this guy looks like a real sweetheart!
The new, normal American family. Brought to you by the liberal parties of AmeriKa.
Spoken like a true Orange County snob. How much would you like to wager that the people in question are tea party patriots?
Looking at the picture, what a "sweetheart" fine American boy that can vote! What is it in this country. Some sh.t in the water or what? Nothing but degenerates around anymore. Must be the fine upbringing provided by the liberal society. Tennessee, eh. Yuk!
I agree that tattoos are mainstream and that his occupation had nothing to do with the story. After seeing his picture I can't believe people would actually allow him to be their tattoo artist. He is freaky scary ugly.
This is called "thinning out the herd". Not really a bad thing, given everything in the article.
Spoken like a true Orange County snob. How much would you like to wager that the people in question are tea party patriots?
Spoken like a true Alaskan meth head. I would wager that they are typicle loser democrats reliant on their obama welfare checks since I don't know any republican or tea party people who are also tattoo artist. That seems to be more of a leftist counter cultural thing.....You know, like the democrats voter base.
Well Ashley if you weren't such a whore, the father of the children would be alive. Also you cheat on your husband with that. This family had many more problems before this.
Ashley should be charged with sex abuse and rape on her adopted child.
Very bizzare but when the head came rolling out of the garbage can I think somebody took a deuce. And a public defender will actually have to argue this case at taxpayer expense......
@Blake-26644321 - why? The man is 37 years old. She did not sexually abuse or rape him because it was consensual and he is WELL over the age of consent. And it's not incest because they're not blood-relatives.
As disgusting as it is, there are no laws against an adoptive mother sleeping with her legal son.
@Ryan: Have you ever heard the word sarcasm. You should look it up in the dictionary and start using it. It will change your life.
Incredible. A man decapitates his father and the woman is the person you blame. Only one person cut off somebody's head here and it wasn't her.
Ryan Chill chill bro.!
@Gibsonlespaul2425 and imrightnotyou- Thank you folks!
@Ryan- hmm, what are those damn things called again??? Ohh yeah, Valium! Take some.
Blake-2644321, It wasn't rape when Woody Allen did it. Not once but twice!
This story made me think of the song "I'm my own grandpa!"
I wonder what Aunt Granny and Uncle Grampers has to say about all these shenanigans?
He was raised by the male Thompson. Baxter was an adult before she came into the picture. The article doesn't articulate that very well. This article sums it up quite nicely in 3 paragraphs with pictures of all involved.
http://www.complex.com/city-guide/2012/07/nashville-love-triangle-gets-exceptionally-ugly
Thanks for the link Skup ... None of them appear to be Harvard material do they ...
Man, this guy looks just like my cousin.
See if your cousin's parents gave a child up for adoption.
Blake, I did ask. They said they did, and he's been banging his adoptive mom for a few years now. Small world.
Yup, small world. lol
Does he give Tattoos? Because you could be talking about a completely different guy who is banging his adoptive mom and decapitated his adoptive Dad.
Just some words of advice, maybe it's not such a good idea to claim any sort of relations to this dude. As they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Adam, Yep you said it. She can only blame herself.. absolutely one of the sickest family dynamics i have ever seen. She needs to be evaluated as well
word on the streets was the Dad called the son a Mother Fu*ker and things just escalated form there
LMAO!!! @That's . . . Best post of the day!
He just lost his head.
I've been looking to get ahead in this world, but I always seem to be in the wrong place when one is available.
Well bill if you are looking to get a head, I'm pretty sure denver's got a scumy street you can find that will offer you what you're looking for.
My oh my, such vituperation. However, perhaps you are right. If only I knew what "scumy" is.
Hey bill, didn't mean to sound like an insulting arse, was being more facetious and just trying to help ya out.
cheers
NP. Cheers back atcha
Ashly is very angry yet she covered up her husband's 'disappearance' with Henry?? Gross dysfuctional redneck family. They all probably function as teenagers to put it generously.
ThatsWhatsUp: Exactly.
Adam: You said it.
JoeJoe: So sad.
Jiggi: Ditto.
WilliamOfRites: Not really. He knew which can it was in. :)
DCLight: Redneck is a stereotype – yet it seems to fit here! LOL
Thompson must have been fairly young himself when he started to raise Baxter from youth since there's only a 12-year difference. What a sorted story. I imagine the Mrs. will be offered her own reality show soon.
JEP1 I think you mean What a sordid story.
No, this story has been organized into different categories.
Hammers....that was great. Take a bow.
I don't see what him being a tattoo artist has anything to do with the story.
Thanks, that was my first question too.............lol
It beats, "Tennessee incestuous redneck freak arrested for allegedly killing, decapitating adoptive father"
It just fits the negative stereotypes. Tennessee, tattoo artists, sleeping with your adoptive mother, decapitation, this story has something for everyone.
I didn't see this post before I added my two cents above. I agree, this looks like a failed attempt at sensationalism. I started getting tattoos at age 52, and many of my older lady friends are getting them. It's not an alternative lifestyle anymore, if it ever was.
My guess in identifying him as a tattoo artist would be to inform the folks of Tennessee that he is no longer gainfully employed in the private sector....If any wish to use his services they will need to commit a crime to have access to the talents of this stunning artist. They should however refrain from decapitation because well that has been done to death.
I guess because the police identified the body by his tattoos, the writer wrongly assumed the fact that the son was a tattoo artist was relevant or if it was it wasn't well explained how they made the connection.
I thought they found the head first in the garbage, couldn't that be used to identify the corpse w/the neck stump instead of tattoos?
LOL I'm not into tattoos, but if I were, I'd steer clear of this guy. He doesn't seem like the type who would take care to keep his needles sterilized.
So he slept with his stepmother? Classy folks. "They ain't got no daddy no more!"
Are we sure that none of these adults are blood realted?
I think I would check all the closets and under the beds before saying that they ain't got no more daddys.
Robert - too funny. Ahh, yes, the proverbial "uncle dad" - he does exist...
The headline to this article irritates me. What the hell does it matter if he's a tattoo artist, business man, or waiter? That has nothing to do with the crime or why it was committed. Stupid.
Amen! Idiotic headline writer.
Ok why isn't she being charged with something?! You know she had to have known about him murdering her husband! They all sound like pure TRASH. She should keep her legs closed to her damn adoptive son, what a sicko. Gross!
I didn't see any reference to him being her adopted son. She was married to his adopted father, doesn't mean she ever adopted him (she said 'he' began caring for Baxter when he was a child, not 'we'). Actually I'm doubting there ever was a legal adoption since the 'father' was only 12 years older than the 'son'. Nor does it say how long she was married to Thompson, or the ages of the children involved. She could have been Baxter's girlfriend first (and Baxter's kid could be the oldest one). None of this is covered in the article, everyone is just making assumptions based on nothing.
What IS this world coming to? Is it the summer heat? Humidity? People absolutely losing their minds???
At least he didn't chew the guy's face off...
I know It's either the Zombie Apocalypse or Crazed Hillbillies attack.
Not to mention losing their heads.
Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!!!!!
does anyone else want to see a pic of Ashley and Thompson?
Watch the video in this news article and you will see. She doesn't have any teeth!!!
Where is a pic of the victem and his wife (add one of the entire family, lets see the other kids) for the complete visual of what this family dynamic reveals.
Click the link in the article above for the newschannel5 story. Then watch the video that is posted there. You will see all that and more.
what...49 and 37??? that guy looks way older than 37.
Drugs and liquor will do that to you.
Inflamatory headline, yes. But its a bizarre story and obviously a bizarre family nonetheless.
I bet Ashley is a real beauty queen.
So, you've got a 37 year old man and his child living with his 49 year old adoptive father and his wife and two other children and he is sleeping with his adoptive dad's wife...hmmm....what a clan....
Bet that family tree doesn't have many branches, but probably has a lot of kinks!
Just another day in the trailer park somewhere in Tennessee!
ONLY in Tennessee! Well, maybe Florida. Or Arkansas. Or Florida....did I say Florida? Well, then also in Tennessee..............talk about your Dad being your cousin/brother.
wow... another day..another weird a** ... "news" article ....i forget is this MSN or The National Enquirer?...........
I wouldn't let that freak tatoo "mom"on my arm if I spotted him the "m" and the "o".
Some much trash in the world, so few well-placed lightning strikes.
Not MSN either. Didn't you hear? It's now NBCnews.com. Without the MS, they lost all of my settings.
“I think the worst part of this is telling my kids they don’t have a daddy no more.”
Hey, ho, you don't got no daddy no mo - put the kids in something like a real home, and then put the inbred rejects in a cell, one knife, no food, no water - come back in about a year. Hose it down and disinfect. That's about the best this bunch deserve.
Good job MSNBC for perpetuating the negative stereotype. My friend who is a tattoo artist is going to be pissed-off at the headline of this story. Especially since it has nothing to do with the actual crime. A giant step backwards in the stereotyping of tattoo artists everywhere.
Mr. Blue - I'm a Tennessean. And I'm not inbred, sleeping with a relative or living in a trailer park. So, there are more stereotypes in this story than just tattoo artists. Funny how if they'd said "Tennessee businessman" instead no one would think anything about it.
This is no different than MSNBC putting "lesbian couple" in the headline for every article about those poor girls murdered in Texas. Sheer sensationalism, and it is terrible.
You can't blame the wife though, this guy looks simply irresistible!
...don't have a daddy no more, or a daddy-grandpa, or would that be a daddy son grandpa lover ma. wth? A little less of them in the gene pool might be recommended here.
And WHAT does tattooing have anything to do with these idiots?
a bit disturbing that the "father" is just 12 yrs older then the adopted son? I just dont understand the relationship --- so the adopted son was shtuping the step mom?! ...this whole thing is just creepy and dysfunctional --- cant get anymore redneck than this situation ....
oh, i bet it can get way more redneck than this...just think, we are probably only hearing a small part of this story....just imagine what was going on in that house on any given day....and all while the kids sitting there thinking that their situation was VERY NORMAL....!!!!!!
She'll have another man by sun-down.
You think? Are there that many desperate males out there? How do people get to this point, anyway?
Desperate enough to get the SSI payments for those youngsters and whatever other state and federal monies are available. I still feel it is a travesty that alcoholism is considered a DISABILITY and an alcoholic can receive checks for this disability from the federal government.