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Knoxville man pleads guilty to 2nd-degree murder in father's stabbing death

Judge Scott Green imposed a 15-year prison sentence as agreed upon by the state and defense.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Update (March 19, 2021):

40-year-old John Paul Hillard pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Friday in the Knox County Criminal Court in the December 2017 murder of his father, Daniel Hillard.

Judge Scott Green imposed a 15-year prison sentence as agreed upon by the state and defense.

John Paul Hillard had been charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of second-degree murder.

The killing happened on December 17, 2017, at a mobile home on Rosie Lane in the Strawberry Plains area.

Prosecutor Hector Sanchez told Green that Hillard lived with his father and sister at the time.

He had mental health problems and had been consuming meth before the murder.

The victim was stabbed so violently in the neck he was nearly decapitated, according to Sanchez.

When deputies got there, Hillard lay on the ground trying to get them to run over him.

John Paul Hillard admitted he killed his dad. He was interviewed by the Knox County Sheriff's Office after the killing and it appeared on the video of that conversation that he was hallucinating, Sanchez said.

Several experts evaluated him with most agreeing he suffered some kind of mental impairment.

Judge Green gave Hillard a chance to speak.

Hillard said it was “almost impossible” to express how sorry he was for what he’d done. He asked his family for forgiveness. He said he realized his actions had caused a lot of pain.

“I realize life can never be the same for any of us,” the defendant said. “This is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

Hillard’s older brother Daniel Hillard Jr. also addressed the court and Hillard. He referred to his brother as Seth.

“You will never know the amount of pain that you have inflicted on this family,” the older brother said.

Hillard Jr. said his brother had made his father’s last days on Earth “miserable”. He said he knew he had to forgive his brother.

“My dad would not want me to live this way,” he said.

Hillard Jr. also said his brother wasn’t “a victim.”

The older brother also said: “You have always been the most entitled person that I have ever met.” He said the defendant would always scream and throw a fit when he didn’t get his way.

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A Knoxville man is facing a murder charge after his father was found stabbed to death Sunday, according to the Knox County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies say they responded to a call at a home on Rosie Lane just after 2 a.m. Inside the house, officials say they found 65-year-old Daniel Lynn Hillard suffering from multiple stab wounds. AMR ambulance and first responders pronounced him dead at the scene, deputies say.

Officials later took the victim's son, 37-year-old John Paul Hillard, into custody. Deputies say he is charged with first-degree murder and being held on a $1,000,000 bond.

The Knox County Sheriff's Office says John Paul Hillard has a criminal record including possession of drug paraphernalia.

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