Witness blunder leads to plea, life in prison without parole for Eric Azotea in Carter County double murder case

ELIZABETHTON — Eric Azotea will spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole after pleading guilty Wednesday to two counts of first-degree murder.The pleas allow him to avoid the death penalty prosecutors were seeking.Azotea pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in exchange for life without parole, a move that salvaged a murder trial nearly tanked by just a few words from one state witness. The plea came on the third day of Azotea's trial. When the witness blurted out from the stand that he met Azotea after Azotea got out of prison, attorneys on both sides and Criminal Court Judge Stacy Street took action to stop the man's testimony.The statement — "I met him when he got out of prison" — was enough to derail the trial, but attorneys were able to work out a plea agreement to salvage the case and prevent another trial down the road. The reason the comment was so detrimental to the case was because a jury isn't allowed to know about a defendant's prior criminal history, because it can create a preconceived notion that the person probably committed the crime for which they were being tried.That led to the plea agreement in which Azotea, 46, of Johnson City, admitted he killed Amber Terrell, 22, of Jonesborough and Arthur Gibson Jr., 36, of Kingsport in January 2015, dismembered and then burned their bodies. Part of the remains were found buried under the house where Azotea lived. Azotea had served a federal prison sentence for bank robbery and was released a short time before the murders.He also pleaded guilty to attempted escape and vandalism, which stemmed from him trying to break out of the Carter County Detention Center. Azotea had pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the abuse of a corpse charges and tampering with evidence. All of his sentences will run concurrently.After the plea hearing was over, Street brought the jury back into the courtroom and told the members why the trial stopped on Tuesday and what had transpired since that time.He had also put a detailed account of the proceedings in the record prior to taking Azotea's plea. He made note to state that neither side asked him to declare a mistrial. Given the heightened due process because it was a death penalty case, a mistrial was one of the options he could consider if either side asked for it.District Attorney General Tony Clark said after he and Assistant District Attorney General Dennis Brooks talked with the victims' families, they were OK with proceeding to a plea as long as Azotea would never get out. Even if Azotea were eligible for parole, he would have to serve 51 years before any consideration. He would be 97 years old."I'm disappointed in how it ended with something so minute as somebody saying, 'I met him when he got out of prison,'" Clark said. "When you weigh that against how much time and effort and work that's been put into this case, how long the family has had to endure this, it's very disappointing."Lead defense attorney Gene Scott said he knew as soon as the witness spoke that the jury was tainted."When he said that I immediately knew it prejudiced the jury," Scott said Wednesday morning after his client pleaded guilty. "I made an objection. I wanted to take the time before I asked for a mistrial to be sure that's what (we) wanted."Scott and co-counsel Dan Smith and Lesley Tiller conferred with each other, with Azotea and his mother, and with prosecutors in the hours after the trial was stopped in its tracks. Street decided to allow the attorneys more time to negotiate how to proceed, and he recessed for the night on Tuesday. It didn't take long for the attorneys to come up with a solution — Azotea's plea to two counts of first-degree murder for a life sentence with no parole."The three of us felt we were doing well in the trial up to that point, so I was hesitant to ask for a mistrial," Scott said. "Judge Street gave us plenty of time to talk and to talk to the DA's office. Mr. Azotea had overnight to consider his decision, and we were prepared to start the trial back today if need be. After considering everything, it was his decision to accept the offer and we left that decision to him."After Azotea entered his plea, Terrell and Gibson's relatives were allowed to give victim impact statements and address Azotea directly.Mandy Gibson, younger sister of Art Gibson, said her brother was kind and would help anyone that he could.Gibson said her brother and Azotea had been friends for 20 years and the family considered Azotea part of their family. "I guess the question I'd like to know most is, why? Why did you take my brother away from his siblings, his children, his friends and his parents? We live with the fact we will never be able to see him smile, hear his laugh, feel his heartbeat. We'll never be able to hug or kiss him and tell him how much we love him because you took that away from us."Ashley Greene, sister of Terrell, said her life changed forever the day Amber went missing."You took the life of an innocent, 110-pound little girl," Greene said. "She was someone's daughter, sister, cousin and aunt. I will miss the little things we would argue about, like why was she wearing my shirt ... or the times we went shopping together. Not only did you take a piece of my heart from me, but you also took something from a 4-year-old little boy who was her nephew. That was his Member, as he called her. They love each other very much, to the point that people thought he was her son."Street said he would sign a transport order to get Azotea sent to a state facility as soon as possible.