BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) — An Alabama man has been indicted more than two decades after a Bristol, Tennessee homicide, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).

The TBI announced on Friday that Christopher James Havrilla, 52, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree murder in perpetration of kidnapping.

Havrilla’s charges stem from the 2002 disappearance of 24-year-old Cody Scott Matney. The TBI reports Matney was last seen at a business in the 3200 block of West State Street, and his vehicle was found in the business’s parking lot.

The Virginia State Police’s (VSP) cold case database specifies that Matney was outside of Confetti’s Sports Bar when he was last seen, and witnesses claimed they saw him make a call from the bar’s pay phone before going to sit in his truck.

Matney reportedly spoke to a person in another truck while sitting in the parking lot. According to VSP, Matney was never seen or heard from again after that, and his truck was found abandoned in the parking lot five days later with his checkbook on the dash. No activity was ever recorded on Matney’s bank account.

“Authorities believe that Matney may have departed from the bar with an acquaintance and may have been taken to Buchanan County, Virginia,” VSP reports.

The Bristol Tennessee Police Department (BTPD) started investigating Matney’s disappearance in April 2002, but the case remained unsolved for years.

The TBI reports that BTPD detectives received new information in 2024 and started working with the district attorney’s office and the TBI.

“During the course of the investigation, authorities determined that Christopher James Havrilla kidnapped Cody Matney, murdered him, and disposed of his body,” the TBI stated in a news release.

A grand jury returned indictments charging Havrilla on March 12, and he was arrested in Orange Beach, Alabama on March 14. Havrilla was extradited to Tennessee later in March and booked into the Sullivan County Jail.

According to the TBI, the investigation remains ongoing as of Friday, and investigators believe other people in the Bristol area may have more information about Matney’s disappearance and murder. Anyone who has information is asked to call the BTPD at 423-968-1426 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

The TBI noted that the charges and allegations are just accusations and are not considered evidence. Havrilla is presumed innocent until proven guilty by process of the law.

The TBI, BTPD, Second Judicial District Attorney General’s Office and VSP worked together in the investigation.