A man has been arrested and charged with second degree murder in connection with the arson perpetrated at St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church in Athens, Tennessee, on Aug. 15. After the fire was extinguished, the body of 69-year-old Linda Buchanan was found in the wreckage.
Investigators later determined that Buchanan died before the fire was ignited.
On Friday (Aug. 23), authorities arrested Kyle Jay Hickox and charged him with Buchanan’s murder. According to a police report obtained by WZTV, Hickox allegedly killed Buchanan before setting the church building on fire.
Police indicated that security cameras captured Hickox in the area several times on the day the church was set ablaze.
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On that day, Hickox was caught on security footage running across the property of the nearby Athens YMCA and then onto the property of Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU). After Hickox entered a maintenance building at the university, a maintenance worker confronted him.
Hickox reportedly told the worker that he “would get God’s water” before running toward St. Mark AME Zion Church. Roughly 10 minutes after entering the church, Hickox was again caught on security footage running across the YMCA property in the direction of TWU’s soccer field.
At one point, Hickox could be seen having removed his shirt, which was now wrapped around one of his hands. After he arrived at TWU’s soccer field, he could be seen hosing himself off.
When investigators later searched Hickox’s home, they found the clothes they believe he was wearing on the day of the arson and murder. They also discovered blood on Hickox’s shoe, and the blood was later found to match Buchanan’s.
On the webpage where Buchanan’s obituary is published, someone close to Buchanan remembered her as “always such a loving, caring, gracious woman.”
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“She has taught many of us who had really harsh childhoods and she never gave up on me,” the person wrote. “She was like a mom to 90% of the kids in Athens. She was just so amazing.”
 Zion Church in Athens, Tennessee, on Aug. 15. After the fire was extinguished, the body of 69-year-old Linda Buchanan was found in the wreckage.){kind=link}