A Knoxville man charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend and employee skipped his first appearance in an East Tennessee courtroom Monday morning.
Shawn Smoot is charged with first degree murder in the death of Brook Morris. Her body was found in Roane County in October 2011. Smoot was indicted by a grand jury last month, but failed to turn himself in. He was eventually captured in Mississippi and brought back to Tennessee to face the charges.
He was supposed to be arraigned at the Roane County courthouse on Monday morning. While Smoot was in the building, he did not appear in court. Instead, his public defender appeared before the judge to waive Smoot's arraignment.
Smoot's next court appearance is a bond hearing set for August 10.