Hampton death puts spotlight on town

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Dean Elliott is a frequent visitor at the Waffle House on Lovell Road near Interstate 40 in Knoxville. He was sipping on his fourth cup of coffee as he started talking about the homicide that remains the talk of the town.

"Me and a friend were talking just the other night about what we would do if that had been our daughter," Elliott said.

"We couldn't imagine how tough this must be on her family. Everybody I've talked to feels real bad this happened here in Knoxville."

Just across I-40 from the Waffle House, Jennifer Lee Hampton, a former Waterloo homecoming queen, was sexually assaulted and killed while staying at the Days Inn on Sept. 20.

Hampton, 21, was in town with coworkers to help train the new staff of a Mama Blues restaurant that was in the process of opening nearby.

The horror experienced by Hampton and her family is still fresh on the minds of Elliott and most other locals who reside in Tennessee's third-largest city. In fact, it's hard to find someone who has not heard of the case.

For some Knoxville residents, it has brought embarrassment because their hometown has been linked to such a brutal attack.

It has also triggered the best and, in the minds of some, the worst of Knoxville.

Hampton's surviving family has been overwhelmed with the generosity of Knoxville residents, many of whom have donated money and offered other forms of assistance to help the family continue to function during the ordeal.

At the same time, the fact that the man accused of killing Hampton is an illegal immigrant has spawned a not-so-positive debate in some circles, including the forum pages of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

An employee and resident of the Days Inn where Hampton was killed, Valentino Vasquez Miranda, 19, has been charged with first-degree murder. Miranda is accused of sexually assaulting and strangling her. Police also say he dumped her body in a nearby lake, where Hampton's nude body was found by a fisherman Sept. 27, seven days after her death.

Miranda has been held in jail since the morning of Hampton's death because he provided police with a bogus Social Security card and other false documentation. They kept him jailed while the search for Hampton continued.

Miranda, through his attorney, maintains he is innocent.

From the parking lot of the Waffle House where Elliott was drinking coffee, the bright yellow sunburst Days Inn sign is visible.

Knoxville police have said Miranda used his master key for the motel to open the door to Hampton's room, where he reportedly attacked her.

There are no longer visible signs that a homicide occurred at the west Knoxville motel, which is about two blocks east of I-40. The yellow crime tape that secured Room 146, where Hampton was staying that night, has been removed.

Several tractor-trailers were parked out front on a recent night. Cars, minivans and SUVs dot the parking lot around the multi-level building.

Everything appeared normal, but locals know better.

Elliott said everywhere he goes in Knoxville, people are talking about the case and the young victim who was saving money to attend college and pursue a career in nursing.

"Something like this is unusual for Knoxville," Elliott said. "We have crime here like any other city this size, but to have a woman killed in her hotel room and thrown in a lake is out of the ordinary for us. Knoxville is a good town; it's a safe town and crimes like this one don't happen around here very often."

Donna Simerly, who lives less than a mile from the motel where Hampton was staying, said the west Knoxville community is outraged over Hampton's death.

"We feel violated as a community and for Jennifer," she said. "Who expects to go to sleep minding your own business in what we consider the safest side of Knoxville and never wake up again, or for the last thing you see in this life to be the face of pure evil. My heart aches that he was the last person she ever saw."

Forensic evidence presented at a preliminary hearing last week in Knox County General Sessions Court showed that the last minutes of Hampton's life were brutal. A forensic expert said she was strangled, beaten and raped.

Knoxville police spokesman Darrell DeBusk said the circumstances of Hampton's death have kept the town buzzing. "Everywhere around here you go, people are talking about this case."

DeBusk said it's unusual for so many people to still be discussing a homicide with such intensity almost a month after it occurred.

Elliott agrees that the fact Miranda is in the country illegally has fueled the conversation.

"We have way too many illegals living around here. They really need to do something about it," Elliott said. "Most everybody I've talked to thinks something needs to be done about the illegals."

The 2000 Census reported that 2,751 Hispanic residents lived in the city of 183,000 residents. DeBusk said the Latino population in Knox and surrounding counties has grown significantly in recent years.

He said it remains unclear how many are legal residents of the United States.

DeBusk said Miranda is the first illegal immigrant in Knoxville to be charged with a homicide involving a non-Latino person.

Some of the regulars on Web site forums in the Knoxville area used much harsher words for any illegal immigrants who might be in Knoxville, with some comments clearly racist in nature. Some have called for the government to round up all the illegal immigrants and deport them to the countries they came from. Some forum users have called for Miranda to be sentenced to death and even suggested how the sentence should be carried out. The posts say little or nothing about waiting on the result of his trial.

The death penalty is an option for a first-degree murder conviction in Tennessee, but prosecutors have not decided if they will pursue it against Miranda. They said that decision likely won't be made until early 2009.

Elliott doesn't mince words when asked what the punishment should be for Miranda, if he is convicted.

"He needs to be executed," he said without hesitation. "I'm a strong supporter of capital punishment.

"If that was my daughter who he did that to, I would want him hurt."

Elliott said his advocacy of the death penalty for Miranda is not because Miranda is in the United States illegally.

"I don't care if he's brown, white, black, yellow, red or whatever," he said. "If you murder someone and are convicted, you should get the death sentence."

Lourdes Garza, director of the Knoxville diocese of the Catholic Church, Office of Hispanic Ministry, said she has not viewed any of the Internet forums calling for Miranda to be executed or for illegal immigrants to be deported.

"Normally, when there is a major issue involving the Hispanic community, I receive lots of calls and e-mails. That has not been the case with this unfortunate incident," she said. "I think most people realize it is an isolated incident and is not a true reflection of our community.

"I'm afraid, though, it might hurt the plight of the immigrants in our community."

Defense attorney Joseph Fanduzz, of Knoxville, said calls to seek revenge on the entire Knoxville area Latino community are not an accurate representation of the relationships between the immigrants and other residents.

"I don't think everyone in our community shares those views that have been posted on some of the Internet forums," Fanduzz said.

While many Knoxville residents are calling for the death penalty for Miranda, others are opening up their hearts and wallets for Hampton's family.

Members of Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Knoxville have donated more than $12,000 to help with funeral expenses and to help Hampton's family travel to and from Knoxville for Miranda's court appearances.

The Rev. Steve Sallee, senior minster at the church, said he met Hampton's family after Knoxville attorney Eddie Daniel, who attends the church, asked him to assist Hampton's family.

Daniel has been representing Hampton's family since the early stages of the search.

"Mr. Daniel asked me to be with the family to comfort them in their time of need," Sallee said. "As I talked to the family, I realized they might need some help with the funeral and (other expenses)."

Sallee said donations began pouring in the next morning when he shared the plight of Hampton's family with church members. A special collection was taken at each of the four Sunday services at the church. Numerous Knoxville residents have sent more than $3,000 to the church, and an account has been opened at a Knoxville bank to collect donations. Other churches and individuals have offered to feed and lodge the Hampton family when they return to Knoxville for court proceedings.

"Knoxville is a warm and generous community, and everyone wants the Hampton family to know that," Sallee said. "They want the family to know we are sorry this incident happened. We know there is no way we can feel the pain they are going through, but we do want them to know they are not alone."

Daniel said Knoxville residents are among the most generous in the country.

"This is a very warm and caring community," he said. "When the Hampton family hurts, we hurt as a community. Our hearts go out to Jennifer's family in their time of need."

Simerly said Knoxville residents have a history of helping others.

"That's just the way we are here; it's a loving town," she said.

Many Alabama residents have also donated money to help the Hampton family.

Simerly said many Knoxville residents continue to keep the Hampton family in their thoughts.

"I pray for this family every single day," she said. "I wish there was more we could do than just donate money and pray. I wish we could reverse time and send this evil person back where he belongs and that Jennifer would be home, ready for nursing school."

Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@TimesDaily.com.