NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A family location safety app helped Metro Nashville detectives piece together a murder investigation and charge 70-year-old Joseph Glynn with criminal homicide.
He made his first appearance in court on Tuesday. He's accused of brutally killing his wife Jackie Glynn with a hammer.
Detectives say they were able to find Jackie’s body after Joe confessed he was able to point them to the exact location on their Dekalb County property for the sheriff’s office to dig.
"She was wrapped in a tarp and put inside a luggage carrier, which the defendant described in detail, so we were able to match that up," MNPD Cold Case Unit's Detective Elizabeth Mills said.
Jackie Glynn, 76, was initially reported as missing by the TBI. Joe told his stepchildren their mother had terminal cancer and left home to attend a support group so she could die on her terms, but a quick call to her doctor determined that was a lie.
Jackie’s son was given her cell phone by Joe. Detective Mills says her son was able to access an app that tracked Jackie's every move.
"He was able to retrieve the victim’s phone which contained Life 360 information that gave us locations from the defendant from the time of the victim’s disappearance until we got involved with the case," Detective Mills said.
Once the evidence was discovered, Mills says they confronted him, and he confessed.
Detectives say he hit his wife in the head with a hammer several times on New Year's Day and then disposed of the evidence. Police say he also sold some of her belongings and buried her in a ditch that he had someone dig three weeks before on their property in DeKalb County.
Detectives also found a list of items Joe wanted to buy written down, which included a hammer and tarp.
After hearing the state’s evidence, the judge has decided to move forward with a trial.
In addition to criminal homicide, Glynn faces charges of tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.
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