An Alcoa man was charged with criminal homicide on Friday following a joint investigation by the Alcoa Police Department and the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, according to a news release from APD.
John Edward Gauthier, 40, of Alcoa, has been charged in the death of a 49-year-old Maryville man who was found in Loudon County. Robert T. Schultz was last seen on July 24 and was reported missing to the Maryville Police Department. Schultz’s phone and truck were found at two locations in Loudon County three days after he was last seen.
Schultz’s body was discovered on July 28 on Friendsville Road in Loudon County. An autopsy and interviews with witnesses led authorities to charge Gauthier with Schultz’s death on Friday.
Gauthier was arrested on Thursday and is being held on a $1 million bond.
