Crossville Chronicle, Crossville, TN

Area News

July 2, 2009

Lloyd accepts consecutive life sentences, not eligible for parole

Shackled hand and foot and dressed in a white state prison jump suit with a blue stripe down the leg, Huston Lloyd faced Criminal Court Judge Leon Burns and heard his fate. Life in prison with no possibility of parole.

It was the ending to a three-year long journey to the halls of justice that began on the evening of June 3, 2006 in the parking lot of Lantana Church of Christ in rural Cumberland County, and ended in a Putnam County courtroom yesterday.

Lloyd, 51, in what investigators described at the time as an unsolicited rage of passion over rejected romantic overtures, brutally and unmercifully gunned down a state prison nurse and her four-year-old daughter.

Lloyd and Kimberly Wyatt, 27, of the Crossville area and a native of Fentress County, worked for the Tennessee Department of Corrections in the health field and the two met at an inservice training session in Nashville.

The two dated a short time but Wyatt had decided that she did not want the relationship to go any further. There was also talk that Wyatt was contemplating trying to reconcile with her ex-husband.

On the evening of June 3, 2006, Wyatt and her two daughters were traveling on Lantana Rd. not far from the Lantana Church of Christ when she encountered Lloyd in his vehicle traveling in the opposite direction.

Wyatt called her close friend and co-worker, Alexander Bosland, to meet her in the church parking lot and take her girls for safe keeping because she feared a confrontation with Lloyd.

As the two were transferring the children to Bosland's pickup, Lloyd raced into the parking lot, exited his vehicle and wildly started shooting.

With Bosland on the phone with E-911, Lloyd emptied his Luger handgun into Kimberly Wyatt's body, made a cell phone call, and then fired a fatal shot into Kimberly Wyatt's head. When it was all over, Kimberly Wyatt had been shot nine times and her daughter, twice.

Wyatt was dead at the scene but Sarah was rushed to Cumberland Medical Center and then flown to The University of Tennessee Medical Center where she died a short time later.

During a preliminary hearing held in June 2006, Bosland testified that Lloyd drove into the parking lot, walked around his pickup truck and opened fire.

The first shot hit Sarah, fired from a distance of about three feet. Bosland said Lloyd stepped over Sarah's body and fired several shots into Wyatt's upper torso. Wyatt fell to the pavement and tried crawling under Bosland's pickup. Bosland said Lloyd was screaming things like, "You are not going to ruin my life anymore," "You've ruined my life for the last time," and, "You're going to die."

According to arrest warrants at the time, Lloyd made a cell phone call, reloaded his gun, walked over to the pickup and grabbed Wyatt's leg, dragged her from beneath the vehicle and fired one last shot into the back of her head from inches away.

Lloyd fled the scene but his Nissan Altima was spotted in Bledsoe County a short time later and after a chase of about 36 miles, his vehicle was forced to a stop when rammed by a Bledsoe County sheriff's deputy's vehicle.

The case had been moved to Cookeville in an attempt to gain an impartial jury panel when it appeared the case was headed for trial. The state had already announced it would seek the death penalty.

Most observers stated it was a slam-dunk case, with the most damning evidence being the E-911 call placed from the scene. That recording includes not only the witness, the voices of Kimberly Wyatt and Huston Lloyd and the sound of gunshots ringing out.

Other evidence, including the murder weapon which was traced to Lloyd, made it appear the case was air-tight.

But privately there was much concern expressed over the effects the trial would have on the surviving child, who at age 7, witnessed her mom and sister being gunned down.

That and the amount of time the appeal process takes in capital murder cases led prosecutors to seek a resolution in the case that all parties involved could accept.

State law requires prosecutors to lay out their case to the court so that the facts of the crime justify the plea being entered. In a sense, it is an unchallenged, brief presentation of the state's case.

District Attorney Randy York called as his only witness Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Tommy Callahan to the witness stand and through the investigator, laid out most of the state's case against Lloyd.

The weapon used in the killings had been thrown off the Laurel Creek bridge on Lantana Rd., a few miles from the crime scene, and the ammunition clip for that weapon was tossed out of Lloyd's car in another area.

Investigators recovered the handgun, which traced back to Lloyd who purchased the weapon in 2000.

A private citizen found the discarded ammunition clip and turned it into authorities.

The issue of Lloyd's competency was questioned by Burns who wanted to make sure Lloyd understood what he was doing and what the ramifications were.

Lowery told the court that in March Lloyd had undergone a 30-day inpatient evaluation that found him able to understand the legal proceedings surrounding the case, and competent to stand trial.

In May, Lowery told the court, a plea bargain agreement had been reached.

The only request that defense attorneys made was that the court recommend to state prison officials that Lloyd be housed closer to his family in Kingston Springs, and that he not be housed in the state prison facility in Bledsoe County where the victim worked.

That judicial request is not binding on the state prison system, but often is considered by the state.

Text Only
Area News
  • Plane has rough landing

    No one was injured when a pilot veered off a runway to avoid a deer that was in the path of his light airplane as he landed the craft.

    May 25, 2012

  • Lemert grave site rededication set Monday

    The restoration of the gravesite of 1st Sgt. Milo Lemert, Cumberland County's only WWI Medal of Honor recipient, is finally complete after months of repair and rebuilding. A special dedication will be held May 28 at the City Cemetery at Sgt. Lemert's gravesite. The dedication will immediately follow the 11 a.m. annual Memorial Day Ceremony for Cumberland County in downtown Crossville. The public is invited to both events.

    May 25, 2012

  • County to use new district boundaries to fill vacancy

    The Cumberland County Commission approved a resolution to use new district boundary lines in the August County General Election in order to fill the vacancy created by the death of 9th District Commissioner Clyde Cramer.

    May 25, 2012

  • THP to enforce seat belt usage this Memorial Day weekend

    The Tennessee Highway Patrol is planning to step up efforts to enforce seat belt usage over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. State Troopers along with other state and local law enforcement agencies are participating in the national seat belt enforcement campaign, Click it or Ticket, May 21 through June 3.

    May 25, 2012

  • Shooting victim identified; accomplice jailed

    A burglar who fled from a home invasion after his partner was shot by a resident may be held responsible for his friend's death, sources close to the investigation of Tuesday's fatal shooting have told the Chronicle.

    May 25, 2012

  • Healthy eating, activity earn CO honors

    Students at Crab Orchard Elementary have been eating better and getting more activity during the past school year. Those efforts have been recognized with prestigious awards for school health.

    May 24, 2012

  • Defendant pleads guilty to avoid jail

    A Crossville area man told a Criminal Court judge earlier this month he was entering a plea of guilty to fraud to keep from going to jail.

    May 24, 2012

  • Man sentenced in sexual battery, statutory rape cases

    A Crossville man charged with raping one woman and with having sexual relations with an underaged teen in a separate incident has pleaded guilty to related charges and was sentenced to jail.

    May 24, 2012

  • County to build, operate Big South Fork Visitor's Center

    The Big South Fork Visitor's Center may become a reality after the county commission narrowly approved building and operating the facility once the project is completed.

    May 24, 2012

  • shooting.jpg One dead in shooting near PH

    One person is dead, a homeowner slightly injured, and at least a third person is in custody following a fatal shooting that may have been sparked by a home invasion near the Pleasant Hill community. And a fourth person might be connected with the incident.

    May 23, 2012 1 Photo

Graduation 2012
  • graduation.jpg Graduation Salutes

    View special salutes here! Congratulations to all our 2012 graduates! To see all our graduates, check out the Friday, May 11th edition of the Crossville Chronicle!

    May 14, 2012 1 Photo

Section Teases
Seasonal Content
Readers' Choice 2012
  • readers choice badge.jpg Reader's Choice 2012 Winners

    The results are in! Here are just a few of our winners. To see the entire list, check out the Wednesday, March 28th edition of the Crossville Chronicle!

    March 28, 2012 1 Photo

Parade
AP Video
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium 50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
Facebook
Weather Radar