CARTER COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – The prosecution continued calling witnesses Tuesday in the trial of Jacob and Joshua Hitchcock.

The men are charged with first-degree murder in the death of their father, Bill Hitchcock, in 2023. Both previously pleaded not guilty.

Fishermen on the Watauga River found Bill Hitchcock on his Elizabethton property, which is located along the river.

Dr. Andrea Orvik took the stand Tuesday to discuss his autopsy.

The autopsy report determined Bill Hitchcock was shot three times: once in the head and twice in the chest. Orvik went through the report and told the jury about each wound. She said one of those wounds could’ve been deadly on its own.

“Was this a lethal possible wound?” the prosecution team asked her.

“It certainly could have been on the exam, yes,” said Orvik. “It went through his cerebellum and his brain, and it’s right next to the brainstem, and the brainstem controls your heartbeat and breathing. So, it’s a vital structure. I think this one would have been certainly lethal on its own.”

Later, the prosecution called Derrick Hamm to the stand. Hamm worked for the Carter County Sheriff’s Office at the time of Bill Hitchcock’s death.

He went through surveillance camera footage from businesses around Bill Hitchcock’s residence.
The footage showed Bill Hitchcock’s Jeep leaving and going to Tulip’s Bar and Grille on the night of his death.

“Were you familiar with the appearance of the Jeep of Bill Hitchcock’s?” the prosecution asked Hamm.

“Not until I responded to the scene,” said Hamm.

“Then once you respond to the scene, you knew what it looked like?”

“Yes.”

“And was it depicted at some point, March 31 on this Rustic River footage?”

“It was.”

The footage also showed a motorcycle coming to and leaving Bill Hitchcock’s residence and following the same path as his Jeep on the same night.

“We recovered multiple videos of the same type of motorcycle,” said Hamm. “As it passes, the camera will be doing significantly faster. It was a lot the opposite direction.”

Later, Lindsey Anderson with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was called to testify. Anderson said the TBI did analyze Joshua Hitchcock’s motorcycle helmet and gloves and found gunshot residue.

Officials say the motorcycle seemed to be very similar to one owned by Joshua Hitchcock.
However, it was not confirmed whether it was Joshua in the video or not.