Editing Byron Looper (section)

== Assassination of Tommy Burks ==

On the morning of October 19, 1998, authorities were called to investigate an apparent murder at the Burks farm. Tommy Burks' body was found with his head resting on the steering wheel of his pickup truck and a single bullet wound above his left eye. Burks had been speaking moments earlier with a farmhand, Wesley Rex, about work that needed to be done on the farm.

Both men had seen a black car drive by the farm on multiple occasions that morning, driven by a man in [[sunglasses]] and black [[glove]]s. The car had later sped by Rex's truck, allowing Rex to get a view of the driver.<ref name="pop">{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/10/27/senator.killed|title=Farmhand saw suspect with murdered state senator, heard 'pop'|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=October 27, 1998|access-date=August 18, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229131902/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/10/27/senator.killed|archive-date=February 29, 2008}}</ref>

[[Cumberland County, Tennessee|Cumberland County]] authorities could not initially find anyone with a plausible motive for murdering Burks, but after seeing a picture of Looper on television, Rex told Burks's widow, [[Charlotte Burks]], that Looper was the man he had seen speeding away in the black car on the morning of the murder.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/coverstory/the-death-of-a-senator-tommy-burks-and-byron-low-tax-looper/article_7176c605-1c9b-53c6-a607-5422e4840953.html|title=The Death of a Senator: Tommy Burks and Byron (Low Tax) Looper|publisher=Nashville Scene|date=August 16, 2018|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref>

Looper later turned up in [[Hot Springs, Arkansas]], where he met with a friend, [[United States Marine Corps]] recruiter Joe Bond. Bond and Looper had been friends as children, and Looper had rekindled the friendship in the summer of 1998, largely on the basis of wanting Bond's expertise in [[small arms]]. Bond would eventually become a key witness for the prosecution in Looper's murder trial. Looper had stayed with Bond for a while, talking a great deal about how he had murdered his senate opponent<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oxygen.com/dying-to-belong/crime-time/tennessee-politician-guns-down-opponent-election%3famp|title='I Killed That Dude': Tennessee Politician Guns Down Opponent To Win State Senate Election|publisher=Oxygen|date=September 16, 2018|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref> and how he needed, among other things, to change the tires on the car he had used in the murder, as well as hide the car.<ref name="appeal_opinion">{{cite web |last1=Glenn |first1=Judge Alan |title=Opinion, Direct Appeal from the Criminal Court for Cumberland County  No. 5346 |url=https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/OPINIONS/tcca/PDF/031/looperb.pdf |website=Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts |publisher=Criminal Court of Appeals At Knoxville |access-date=15 April 2025 |page=7 |format=pdf |date=February 3, 2003}}</ref>

Looper was charged with 1st degree murder and arrested on October 23, 1998. He was denied bond.<ref>{{Cite web |title=STATE JONES v. LOOPER (2000) |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/tn-court-of-appeals/1342738.html |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=Findlaw |language=en-US}}</ref>

Looper was arraigned at a hearing that featured Bond as a surprise witness for the state. During the pretrial phase, Looper attempted to have his former friend disgraced, and shuffled through at least six lawyers, one of whom filed a sealed court document explaining why, for ethical reasons, he could no longer be Looper's attorney.<ref>{{Cite web |title=State of Tennessee v. Byron Looper |url=https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/OPINIONS/tcca/PDF/031/looperb.pdf}}</ref>