Twenty-two year old Taylor Lee Olson of Knoxville has been indicted by a grand jury on felony murder, first degree murder, attempted first degree murder and aggravated burglary in connection with the Johnia Berry case.  He is in the Knox County Jail with a one million dollar bond.

(updated with link to video of the press conference)...  Click here to play

Olson has been a person of interest to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office since receiving a tip.  Olson was charged with violating his probation on July 27th and voluntarily submitted his DNA.
 
Olson has a criminal history in Knox and Sevier Counties.  He was charged with credit card theft and forgery in Sevierville in May 2005.  In Knox County, he was charged with failure to give information and render aid, driving without a valid driver’s license, and harassment in 2004.  In 2007 he was charged with aggravated burglary and theft.
 
KCSO detectives have interviewed over one thousand people in connection with the case as well as submitted over 400 DNA samples.  Hundreds of tips were received with each one investigated by a detective who was assigned full time to the case.
 
Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones said the solving of this case was the result of cooperation between many agencies—the TBI, FBI, and the District Attorney General’s Office.   “This is a prime example of what can happen when law enforcement agencies work together.  I thank all those agencies and appreciate all the professional, dedicated men and women of the Sheriff’s Office who worked countless hours to solve this homicide.  It’s impossible to tally the hundreds and hundreds of hours spent to bring this to a conclusion.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the Berry family as they now may be able to find some peace knowing Johnia’s killer has been caught.”

Video of the Press Conference and Suspect Transfer is now available for download  (right click - "Save As...").

A streaming version is now available...  Click here to play