By JEFF FARRELL

Staff Writer

PIGEON FORGE — The sister of murder victim Dawn Shannon Hercutt is speaking out for the first time since Hercutt’s death.

Hercutt’s sister, Penny, who asked The Mountain Press not to use her last name, said she wanted to make it clear that the business Dawn Shannon Hercutt started would continue despite her sister’s death and despite having shots fired into the office last month.

Hercutt’s family referred to her by her middle name.

“I am tired of sitting back and being quiet during this frustrating time, especially listening to others expressing their so-called interests and opinions concerning Shannon and her business,” Penny said in a written statement.

“Even though certain people are trying to make it difficult to keep Shannon’s dream alive, it’s not going to happen. I want people to know Shannon would have wanted me and her Auntie Belham’s family to continue fighting, to keep her business running and to keep pushing to find out who killed her.”

Shannon Hercutt had owned Auntie Belham’s Realty and Nightly Rentals for years; the business had moved to a new location just weeks before her death.

Hercutt’s body was found Aug. 3 in her SUV, which was at the bottom of a cliff off Walker Trail Road, near Upper Middle Creek Road.

Her death was initially investigated by Tennessee Highway Patrol and was first reported to be the result of an accident. Authorities said it appeared she had lost control of her 2007 Cadillac Escalade and driven it off the cilff, causing fatal injuries.

On Aug. 14, the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office announced the case was being investigated as a homicide. While authorities have not released much additional information on the case, family members have said it appears she was killed in her home and that someone put her in her car and guided it off the cliff to make her death appear accidental.

Her father, Ted Hercutt, has said that he had to push authorities to perform an autopsy that ultimately revealed she didn’t die in the accident; other sources familiar with the incident have disputed that.

Ted Hercutt also said people had called him and insinuated he was a suspect. In an interview with The Mountain Press on Tuesday, Hercutt’s sister Penny confirmed that Ted Hercutt was in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with her when the murder occurred.

Her sister’s murder wasn’t the end of the violence, either. On Nov. 20, someone fired several shots from a .20-caliber weapon into the store front. On Monday, District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn announced the state was offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the party responsible for Hercutt’s death.

Penny declined to comment on who she thought might have been responsible for the murder or the shooting. She did offer her theory on a motive for what’s happened to her family: “It would be greed, and spitefulness, I guess.”

She said she and other family members have remained quiet because they don’t want to cause problems in the investigation. She said they fully support the efforts of state and local investigators.

Her cousin, John Madewell, is executor of Shannon Hercutt’s estate and has been answering calls directed to her.

“John has always been like a brother to me and to Shannon,” Penny said.

Hercutt’s death wasn’t the only loss Penny suffered over the past year; they had lost their mother to cancer just a few months earlier.

“It’s turned my life 180 degrees,” she said of the tragedies. “I don’t have my mother and I don’t have a sister.”

jfarrell@themountainpress.com

WRITTEN STATEMENT FROM SISTER:

This is the written statement issued Tuesday by the sister of the late Shannon Hercutt:

“In response to the ongoing media questions concerning the tragic murder of my sister Shannon Hercutt, it has been a very upsetting and hard time during the past four months. I am tired of sitting back and being quiet during this frustrating time, especially listening to others expressing their so-called interests and opinions concerning Shannon and her business.

“Even though certain people are trying to make it difficult to keep Shannon’s dream alive, it’s not going to happen. I want people to know Shannon would have wanted me and her Auntie Belham’s family to continue fighting to keep her business running and to keep pushing to find who killed her. Just because I have been silent and her Auntie Belham’s family has also, it should not reflect negatively about the ongoing investigation in my sister’s murder case or reflect on her business.

“Being silent doesn’t mean everyone here at Auntie Belham’s does not support the investigation. Without any question, neither I nor anyone else at Auntie Belham’s wants to hinder anything that would affect this ongoing investigation. We only have one chance to prove who murdered Shannon.

“This murder case will be solved and justice will be served. I can truly say one thing: She has and always will have a family at Auntie Belham’s Cabin Rentals.

“We love you, Shannon, and we all miss you greatly.”