STATE OF TENNESSEE v. EVELYN D. KENNEDY and CHRISTOPHER L. KENNEDY - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. EVELYN D. KENNEDY and CHRISTOPHER L. KENNEDY

Posted by: Azya Thornton on May 11, 2026

Head Comment: CORRECTION: The opinion file was corrected

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Alan R. Moore, Kingston, Tennessee, for the appellant, Evelyn D. Kennedy.

Attorneys 2: Kim Nelson, District Public Defender; William W. Gill (on appeal), Assistant Public Defender – Appellate Division; Ethan L. DeVoe (on appeal), Qualified Law Student; Mart Cizek (at trial), Assistant Public Defender, for the appellant, Christopher L. Kennedy.

Attorneys 3: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; William C. Lundy, Assistant Attorney General; Robert Edwards, District Attorney General; and Jonathan Edwards, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): MONTGOMERY

The Defendants, Evelyn D. Kennedy1 and Christoper L. Kennedy, bring this consolidated appeal from their convictions for first degree felony murder and aggravated neglect of an elderly or vulnerable adult resulting in serious bodily injury, a Class B felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-202(a)(2) (2018) (subsequently amended) (felony murder), 39-15-508 (2025) (aggravated neglect of an elderly or vulnerable adult resulting in serious bodily injury). The trial court sentenced both Defendants to concurrent terms of life for their felony murder convictions and twelve years for their aggravated neglect convictions. On appeal, the Defendants contend that: (1) their convictions violate the ex post facto protections of the State and federal constitutions and (2) the trial court abused its discretion in admitting graphic autopsy photographs. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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