He was a dedicated soldier. A beloved son. A father of two.
And he was found brutally murdered in his Tennessee apartment.
Now, police have released grim details surrounding his sudden and mysterious death.
Jacob Bishop was found dead in his Tennessee apartment on October 1. And while little details were initially made public about his demise, investigators are now saying that the 35-year-old Army veteran was physically tied up and shot dead.
Now they’re on the hunt for his killer.
“We have been pursuing multiple leads, spending countless hours around the clock, in our search for clues that we need to lead us to the party or parties responsible for the tragic killing of another,”Loudon County Sheriff Tim Guider said.
Bishop’s mother discovered the body of her son after she became worried when he wasn’t answering his phone.
“He was known to oversleep,” said Sheriff Guider. “She had tried to call him, and he didn’t answer.”
When she knocked and there was no answer, she used a spare key to enter the aparement. When she entered, she found her son’s body on the floor of the living room. He was tied up and had been shot several times.
Tennessee authorities released a formal statement on Tuesday, reassuring the public and the family that they were doing everything in their power to find the person or persons responsible for murdering a dedicated service member.
“We continue to work tirelessly and around the clock to bring the party, or parties, responsible for the murder of a U.S. Soldier to justice, and to provide the Bishop family with some form of closure,” Sheriff Guider said in a statement Tuesday. “Jacob Bishop was a father of two, and one of our Nation’s guardians.”
Police are now following “multiple leads”, with the strongest being a white SUV that had been spotted at the apartment complex multiple times after Bishop returned home from duty. Witnesses say that they saw that same SUV driving away from the apartment building on the day that Bishop was said to have been murdered.
His girlfriend posted to Facebook following his untimely death.
“God has one amazing angel by him now,” wrote Brittany Kindred. “And I have a precious guardian angel. I love you, always.”
A soldier's mother found him physically bound and shot to death, and now police are seeking a suspect. https://t.co/ELQGs3Z68o pic.twitter.com/bhWMT13J1s
— ArmyTimes (@ArmyTimes) October 9, 2019
“My children and I stood side by side with his blood relation and not (related), all united as a whole family to honor a man we all loved so dearly,” Kindred wrote. “This loss is unlike any. My heart is shattered and crumbles even more as I watch my boys cry and ask questions.
Bishop had been stationed in Poland for the last eight months with the Army, reportedly serving in the 278th Infantry of the National Guard. His obituary noted that he was engaged at the time of his death, and left behind two young children.
A motive for the crime has not yet been made public.
Anyone with information that could lead to the capture and arrest of Bishop’s killers are encouraged to contact the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office at (865) 986-4823.
Law enforcement officials did note, however, that the suspects “should be considered armed and dangerous given the specifics of the murder.”
Want to make sure you never miss a story from Law Enforcement Today? With so much “stuff” happening in the world on social media, it’s easy for things to get lost.
Make sure you click “following” and then click “see first” so you don’t miss a thing! (See image below.) Thanks for being a part of the LET family!
