RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN - UPDATE: A Christiana man accused of killing his neighbor will be imprisoned in Tennessee until he turns 73. His sentencing follows an incident on July 6, 2022, when a 9-1-1 call prompted Rutherford County Sheriff’s Deputies to a home on Panther Creek Road in Southern Rutherford County. Upon arrival, law enforcement quickly discovered the body of a 58-year-old resident, leading to an investigation.

Assistant District Attorney Trevor Lynch told WGNS listeners…Investigators reported that Clarence Rowden's wife was the one who called 911 after Jeffery Hayden Burris shot Rowden multiple times.

Burris, who remained on the scene until Sheriff's Deputies arrived, was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. Shortly after his first court appearance, the case was presented to a Grand Jury in Rutherford County and ultimately scheduled for trial to take place in just two months (April 2025). However, the case never went to trial, and Burris pleaded guilty…

Burris is behind bars at the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville, Tennessee, a prison that holds fewer than 30 maximum-security inmates, along with over 1,500 medium and minimum-security inmates. Burris, who will turn 57-years-old next month, will see his sentence end in 2041. According to the courts, he received credit for time served starting from the day of his arrest, which coincided with Rowden’s death - - the man he was accused of killing in 2022.