She Went To A Job Interview… And Never Came Back | True Crime Documentary

“The young lady’s body was over here.”

Sheriff Tim Fuller says deputies discovered Sharpton’s body in this grass on fire early Monday morning. After putting out the flames, they discovered evidence of trauma to her head.

“It appears to us that… that she may have very well been murdered at another location and was literally dumped here to dispose of the body.”

“I have to accept her diploma for her, and that will be joyous, but it will break my heart because it should be her.”

Tullahoma, Tennessee. Just over an hour south of Nashville, the residents of Tullahoma describe it as quaint and quiet. Most people know each other, and the community is fairly close. In 2012, it was home to 24-year-old Erica Megan Sharpton. Erica went by Megan, and she was part of a big family who had moved around a bit before settling in. A hard worker, very goal-oriented, and her best friend said she was really funny, outgoing, and always pushed herself in every way.

Megan was just 2 months away from graduating and had a promising career in the nursing field ahead of her. She was always busy but thrived in that environment, enjoying her part-time jobs waiting tables at a local steakhouse as well as another at a nursing home. She was living with her partner of 3 years, Chris, and everyone said she had everything going for her in so many ways.

On July 1st, Megan had made plans to go to her mother’s house to see her sister who was visiting from out of town, but soon after making dinner plans, Megan called her mother, Kelly, and explained that a last-minute job interview had come up and she would have to reschedule. Megan was excited and said she would even be getting an upfront payment straight away if she was lucky enough to get the job. A hardworking person always looking to progress, her family were just as excited. They wished her luck and agreed to catch up with her later, but hours would pass and neither her family, friends, or her partner, Chris, had heard anything about the interview. Megan was completely silent and wasn’t answering her phone. Before long, it was past midnight and into the next day, and people were starting to worry whether the interview had gone well or not. They were hoping for her to tell them something.

July 2nd, 2012, 1:20 a.m. It had been a very hot and dry day, and in the early morning hours, a couple of teenagers driving down Awalt Road happened upon a fire amidst the trees. It was a very secluded and unfrequented area. The nearest building was a church about half a mile away, and the nearest home was way across the bridge. This wasn’t a road you would have any reason to stop on; it was more just a place to pass through. The teens called emergency services thinking a forest fire had broken out, and they were worried it would spread. Authorities got there not long after and quickly started combating the fire, which had spread quite a distance. Perhaps it was a campfire that had been left unattended or a discarded cigarette, the first responders thought, but they didn’t have to get very close to realize it was far from that. The fire had been set to try and burn a body: the body of Megan Sharpton.

There was no car nearby, and no one else was around. Megan had no ID, no keys, no purse, and no phone on her or anywhere near her. She was naked from the waist down, and the location and position of the fire confirmed that she was already dead before she was set on fire. One of the officers commented on how severe the blunt force trauma to her head was, as they could see how dented her skull was. Along with no identification, there had been no people recently reported missing they could look towards for an answer, but her distinctive t-shirt indicated she was a medical student, and she had several tattoos, so police were able to put somewhat of a description out. Word traveled fast, and after seeing a Facebook post about a girl with star tattoos being found, Kelly had called in. Megan had star tattoos on her ankle representing her siblings, as well as one on her neck, and from these alone, Kelly knew straight away it was her daughter.

It was brutal, shocking, and the community was left incredibly frightened as a result.

“Workers couldn’t believe the news. Waitress Erica Sharpton, or Megan as they called her, was murdered. We’re all just shocked, because she never seemed like she was in any kind of trouble.”

Friends say Sharpton was a busy 24-year-old who was balancing this job with nursing school and another job at a nursing home to try and get out of the restaurant business and get into a better career field, you know, where she can accelerate.

“The young lady’s body was over here,” Sheriff Tim Fuller says. “Deputies discovered Sharpton’s body in this grass on fire early Monday morning. After putting out the flames, they discovered evidence of trauma to her head. It appears to us that… that she may have very well been murdered at another location and was literally dumped here to dispose of the body.”

“Had she been killed on the way home from the interview? Had she even made it to the interview in the first place? Was the interviewer her killer, or was this a totally unrelated attack?”

“Joining us now is Kelly Sharpton. I’m sure this has just been so difficult for you and your family. Our prayers go out to you. How did you find out what happened to your beautiful daughter?”

“I actually read a post on Facebook where they had described a girl with a star tattoo on the back of her neck and one on her foot, and I knew that it was her.”

“When was the last time you talked to your daughter and what kind of mood was she in? I understand she was saying that she was going to go over and visit a family, correct?”

“Right. Um, my other daughter was here from out of town and she had just woken up at 3:45 that afternoon. She’d worked the late shift at the restaurant where she worked and was planning to come over after that. She said after she got her shower she would come on, and… um… she didn’t come. But we were under the understanding she had an interview with somebody to start sitting with an elderly lady, and so we just figured she had gone on and gone through that interview. But we lost track of her after that.”

“If somebody is out there listening tonight and they saw something, would you like to say to them, as you are desperately searching for clues for your daughter?”

“Just please, if you saw anything, even the smallest details, please call the police. Call TBI or Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. They’ve been wonderful, they’ve kept us up to date, they’ve left no stone unturned. They’ve just been great. And please call. She was our daughter and our sister. We just miss her.”

Police started with the people closest to her, one of which was her partner, Chris, and her family admitted they did briefly question him, too. The couple had been on and off for a while, and her sister has said her first thoughts was that he had been involved, describing the couple as oil and water and most definitely having their ups and downs. Chris told investigators the last time he had tried to call her she didn’t answer. When she didn’t come back to the apartment that night, he just assumed she had slept at her mother’s. A search of the…

“People essentially hunting for a victim.”

Donnie then remembered Megan from giving her a lift a year prior. He used his wife’s phone to get her number and used Naomi’s name to lure her into a false sense of security. He gave her the fake address and directions that led to a desolate area where he was waiting. Phone records confirmed that his wife, Naomi, was at work on the night of the crime, and police said she had nothing to do with Megan’s murder. They also found no connection between Donnie and Holly Bobo, with separate arrests being made in her case later down the line. Although the charges against Donnie were eligible for the death penalty, prosecutors never publicly stated whether or not they plan to seek it.

Donnie Jones Jr. entered a plea of not guilty. He walked into a Manchester courtroom with shackles on his hands and feet, coming face to face with Megan Sharpton’s mother, Kelly, who was clutching a picture of her daughter.

“Well, our theory was that the purpose of the fire was to destroy the semen present in her body,” District Attorney Mike Taylor says. “The fire actually ended up preserving the evidence.”

That became key after investigators linked Jones to the crime through cell phone records and Sharpton’s clothing found on his family’s property.

“I know that he had a ’98 Escape where he, uh… where he actually tried to kidnap two young ladies in the car and make them take him to the interstate.”

In court, Jones asked the judge for a speedy trial and he mouthed to relatives what appeared to be, “I didn’t do it.”

“He knows in his heart. The universe knows who’s guilty. I don’t have to argue with him. The police have done their work.”

But as the death penalty was potentially on the table, it was later said he was keen to cut a deal with the authorities instead. The exchange would be a confession for the removal of the death penalty. As the man who killed her agreed to a plea deal that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life, in February 2013, 37-year-old Donnie Jones Jr. pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Megan Sharpton. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, he soon asked to withdraw this, stating that his attorney had convinced him to say it and his wife had been threatened. Circuit Court Judge Curtis Smith heard and granted a new motion, but the original judgment soon went back into effect and he is still serving life without parole.

Megan’s sister, Carrie, said, “If Megan hadn’t lost her life, I feel very confident that Donnie Jones would still be out trying to trick young women. Megan put him behind bars for life. She sacrificed her life to keep everybody else in our community safe.”

Kelly Sharpton, who had gone through such trauma losing her daughter in an unbearable way, often spoke of how the pain was all-consuming and relentless. Tragically, in November 2013, Kelly would take her own life.

Officers working the case expressed the sadness they felt for Megan, stating, “Her last few minutes of life was pure hell and panic and fear. A young woman with so much promise and so many plans, her life so cruelly snatched away.”

This, along with the devastating death of her mother, Kelly, deeply affected many people. A 7th-tall memorial was created to honor Megan and can be located where she was found that early morning. It is made up of 24 stars, one for each year of her life, and a nod to the tattoos that meant so much to her. Her sister said their family will be forever grateful to the community for their support and their dedication to helping them through it all.