Updated: 5/12/2009 2:05:09 PM
A 17-year-old has been charged in juvenile court with killing his mother and abusing her corpse.
A hearing for Codey Wayne Miller was opened to the news media Monday after a request by the Johnson City Press. Most juvenile court hearings are closed, but judges have leeway to open them when the charge is murder.
Court documents obtained by the newspaper indicate investigators think Miller's mother, 36-year-old Sherry Cooper, was strangled Thursday and her body abused before it was placed in a trash can.
District Attorney General Tony Clark says he plans to petition to have Miller tried as an adult in the case.
Police have also charged 36-year-old Christopher A. Johnson of Memphis with felony murder and abuse of a corpse in the case.
