Double Homicide investigation over bodies found at cemetery

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – A double homicide investigation is underway at Highland Memorial Gardens cemetery.

This morning, a former Chattanooga city councilman found the bodies of two adults near a grave stone.

They both apparently died from gunshot wounds.

Manny Rico discovered the murder scene. The former city council member is owner of Rico monuments and he had been asked by a customer to check out a marker at the cemetery.

City Councilman Manny Rico said,  “I drove that circle, and there’s two bodies laying there. And I’m thinking, well, you know..they might be passed out..drunk, asleep..and I’m thinking..what..they kind of looked kinda funny the way they laying. So I sat there and watched them to see if I could see breathe..and then so, I didn’t, so I honked my horn couple times real loud and they didn’t move.”

A caretaker confirmed what Rico suspected—those men were dead. Rico says he wasn’t sure the danger was over.

“It’s kind of scary because you know there’s some woods around there and then you’re sitting there and I’m watching William ..and I’m thinking. I hope there’s nobody around because you never know,” said Manny Rico.

Rico called police and they quickly sealed off the area.

The FBI is assisting.

“Our federal partners are in constant communication with the detectives that are on the scene right now..offering assistance,” said Rob Simmons of the Chattanooga Police Department.

The detectives decided to conduct a wide search of the area.

“The difficulty lies in the shear expanse of the ground. There’s a lot of area to cover—many acres to cover. Uh, looking for evidence that can be small..so its going to be very difficult. So that’s why we called out the Chattanooga police academy to come and help us. There’s 20-25 people who have expressed desire to be police officers..so they’re going to come and do a sweep thorough the whole, uh, acres,” said Officer Simmons.

Simmons says the men were lying side by side in an open area of the property.