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- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 20 Jan 2001.
STANSBERRY, ALLEEN - age 96, of Sevierville, went to be with the Lord Wednesday, January 17, 2001. Ms. Stansberry was born and raised in Sevier County in The Boyds Creek Community. Aleen's father, T.W. Stansberry had served as Post Master of The Boyds Creek Community from 1914-1935. Following in his tradition, Alleen served as Post Mistress in the same post office from 1942-1955. Alleen was a long-time member of The Rocky Springs Presbyterian Church. Alleen was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas Walker and Cordie Felker Stansberry; brother, John Stansberry; sisters, Blanche Whaley and Nellie Willard Scott; half-sister, Bessie Allen.
She is survived by her nephews and spouse, Tommy and Peggy Stansberry and Jim Stansberry, all of Seiverville; great-nephews, Bryan, Jeffrey and Jonathan Stansberry and Rocky Line, all of Sevierville; great-niece, Jacinda Stansberry of Sevierville; sister-in-law, Martha Stansberry of Morristown; several cousins and a host of loving friends. Graveside service will be 2:00 p.m. Sunday, January 21, 2001 at Boyd's Creek Cemetery. Interment will follow the service. The family will receive friends from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, January 20 at Rawlings Funeral Home. Rawlings Funeral Home has been honored to have been in charge of the final arrangements for Ms. Stansberry.
- [S142] Newspaper Article, The Mountain Press, 21 Jan 2001.
Alleen Stansberry, 96, of Sevierville, died Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2001. Ms. Stansberry was born and raised in Sevier County in the Boyds Creek community, where she served as postmistress in 1942-1955. She was a long-time member of Rocky Springs Presbyterian Church. Her parents were Thomas Walker and Cordie Felker Stansberry. She was also preceded in death by a brother, two sisters, and a half-sister. She is survived by her nephews and spouse, Tommy and Peggy Stansberry and Jim Stansberry, all of Sevierville; great-nephews, Bryan, Jeffrey and Jonathan Stansberry, and Rocky Line, all of Sevierville; great-niece, Jacinda Stansberry of Sevierville; sister-in-law, Martha Stansberry of Morristown; several cousins and a host of friends. Graveside service is 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21 at Boyds Creek Cemetery. Interment will follow the service. The family received friends from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Rawlings Funeral Home in Sevierville.
- [S142] Newspaper Article, The Mountain Press, 21 Jan 2001.
Teen confesses in woman's death
A 19-year-old neighbor has confessed to killing a 96-year-old woman by shooting her in the face.
Dexter Lee Spence, 19, was arraigned Friday before Judge Jeff Rader in Sevier County General
Sessions Court. He is jailed in lieu of $750,000 bond. Spence has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Alleen W. Stansberry of 1903 McCleary Bend Road in the Boyds Creek community. Spence's address is 1791 McCleary Bend Road. According to the arrest warrant, Spence was seen near Stansberry's home Wednesday, riding a bicycle and carrying a shotgun. Stansberry was found about 8:20 a.m. Thursday lying on the floor of a room with a shotgun wound to her face, the warrant says. Sevier County Sheriff's Department Deputy Chief Ron Seals said there is evidence that Stansberry had been shot some time before she was found. She lived alone in a white clapboard farmhouse on an isolated stretch of road with few neighbors. According to the warrant, after Spence was picked up around 5 p.m. Thursday, he admitted to shooting Stansberry in her home on Wednesday. Spence attended school in Sevier County during the 1999 to 2000 school year, said school system spokeswoman Debra Cline. She declined to say which school or whether he graduated. The Mountain Press has no record of his graduation, and he was unemployed at the time of his arrest. He has no prior bookings at Sevier County Jail. Spence and his family reportedly rented a house on McCleary Bend Road after moving in from out of state, though his place of birth is listed as Tennessee. The sheriff's department has released few details. A family member said the spelling of the victim's name and address were inaccurate in Friday's Mountain Press. Both details were provided by the sheriff's department. Detective Jeff McCarter signed the warrant. Seals said Capt. Larry McMahan and Detective Matthew Cubberley were also involved in the investigation. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation also took part in the probe. Spence is scheduled to appear in general sessions court on Feb. 2. Anna Garber can be reached at agarber@themountainpress.com.
- [S106] The Mountain Press.
A Seymour man who shot and killed a 96-year-old neighbor when he was 19 will spend 25 years in prison.
Dexter Lee Spence, 20, will serve the entire sentence unless he successfully appeals it to the Court of Criminal Appeals. He pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder in the death of Aileen Stansberry.
Circuit Court Judge Rex Henry Ogle handed down the sentence Tuesday after hearing from Clinical Psychologist Eric S. Engrum and Spence. The judge also considered a letter from David Way on Spence's behalf, and a letter from Johnnie Allen, on behalf of the victim.
No one from Stansberry's family wanted to address the court.
"We still want to know why," one family member, who asked not to be identified, said after the hearing. "We can't tell how we feel, that's why we didn't address the court."
Spence shot Stansberry with a 12-gauge shotgun at close range in her home on McCleary Bend Road in Seymour on Jan. 17, 2001.
Spence maintained his side of the story in court, saying it was an accident.
He told authorities he was going to ask Stansberry if he could hunt on her property, but his shotgun got caught on the door latch and accidentally went off, striking Stansberry.
Based on the evidence and autopsy, Assistant District Attorney Steve Hawkins said there's no way it could have been an accidental shooting and that the gun was not defective in any way.
He also said Forensic Pathologist Dr. Cleland Blake would have testified at trial that Stansberry had been pushed down, or she fell down before being shot.
Stansberry was shot in the top of her head and the bullet protracted downward, through her body.
At Tuesday's hearing, Spence addressed the court briefly.
"I'm sorry," he said. "It truly was an accident."
Dr. Engrum, who spent about 14 hours talking with Spence and administering psychological tests, diagnosed Spence with major depressive disorder. However, the doctor admitted he doesn't know if he is correct.
Engrum said Spence has serious psychological problems stemming from a terrible childhood.
"He never learned any limits whatsoever," Engrum said. "He never had structure. He never really had a chance."
The doctor said Spence was referred to a family ministry program because he had a long history of problems with impulse control, but he was sexually assaulted while participating in the program, Engrum said.
He also said Spence is a slow learner with bad social skills and a low IQ.
Engrum suggested that Spence be placed in a special needs facility in the Tennessee Department of Corrections, which Judge Ogle requested in the judgment.
"If he's put in general population, I don't think he can take care of himself," Engrum said.
Public Defender Ed Miller, who represents Spence, pointed out that his client "didn't have a chance" because of his background, as Engrum said.
"Does that excuse this crime?" he asked. "No, but it is a mitigating factor."
Judge Ogle said the enhancing factors outweighed the mitigating factors.
The enhancing factors were the fact that Spence has a previous criminal history, the age of the victim and her physical condition, and the use of a firearm.
In her letter to Judge Ogle, Johnnie Allen says Stansberry, her friend, had a premonition that something bad was going to happen a week before her death.
Stansberry, who was postmaster at the Boyds Creek Post Office in 1942, saw a bright light in her home, something she took as a warning.
"It grieves us that Aileen had to die in such an incredibly horrible way," Allen's letter says. "We have been robbed of something not replaceable - someone precious to us. It was a despicable disregard for human life. Dexter Spence had no more concern for her than if she were a cockroach."
Stansberry's nephew, Tommy Stansberry, said his aunt would not have let a stranger in her home, much less one with a weapon because she hated guns.
"I'm glad it's over with," he said of the hearing.
During his ruling, Judge Ogle said similar cases are common in the news.
"This is a tragedy," he said. "And here you have a 96-year-old lady who had been fortunate enough to live a long life to have to suffer such a violent death and such an unnecessary death.
"And I look at this defendant, it just breaks your heart. Obviously, he has suffered as a consequence of an inappropriate childhood or parenthood, or lack thereof. It should be an example for all of us about how important it is to care for our children."
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Abt 1905 - 2001 (~ 96 years)
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