Murder Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

PALESTINE – A mass murder suspect in Anderson County has pleaded not guilty to capital murder. At his arraignment, William Mitchell Hudson, 33, entered the plea to three counts of capital murder. He is accused of killing six persons last November. Four of the victims were discovered in a pond behind the suspect’s home on County Road 2217. The other two were found dead in a travel trailer near the site, located between Tennessee Colony and the Harmony Community. So far, a trial date has not been set. And there is no word from the district attorney’s office on if the death penalty will be sought.

The lone survivor, the wife of one of the victims, was able to escape and call for help during the attack. She told authorities that the suspect had drinks with the blended family before suddenly producing a gun and firing on them. The survivor told sheriff’s deputies that she heard gunshots before Hudson returned alone to the campsite and chased her husband and daughter into a travel camper, where he shot them.