Police seek help to solve 2023 murder of Chris Hill in West Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Knoxville Police Department is asking for information that could help solve a 2023 murder case to come forward.
Officers responded to 218 E. Depot Avenue on December 13, 2023, where they found 51-year-old Chris Hill unresponsive. He had been shot multiple times and died at the scene.
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Nearly a year and a half later, no arrests have been made in the case.
During the investigation, detectives determined that the morning of the shooting, a gray Toyota 4Runner was stolen from outside a West Knoxville home after it was left running.
Later that day, Hill was working as a plumber on Boright Drive.
'Surveillance video revealed that there was a Toyota 4Runner that appeared to be driving, circulating through the neighborhood, watching the work truck, and then ultimately followed him down onto Depot Avenue,' Scott Erland with KPD said. 'When Mr. Hill got out of his truck, an individual got out of that 4Runner and shot Chris Hill multiple times.'
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The 4Runner was later found abandoned. Investigators are still working to find out why the shooting happened.
'This was, by all appearances, a targeted shooting, but we don't really totally know why that was the case, why Chris Hill would have been targeted,' Erland said.
Now investigators are turning to the public. Former Knoxville Police Chief Phil Keith said no piece of information is too small.
'Most cases that we solve are dependent on citizen input, citizen witnesses, and no one should ever think that because they know very little it may not help, because it's like a big jigsaw puzzle,' Keith explained.
He said keeping the case in the public eye is also important, because sometimes those with information don't realize they have it until later on.
'Any little tidbit of information often leads to a break in the cases, and of course the media. Nationwide the media is a huge player in that role,' he said.
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Anyone with information that could help investigators is urged to contact East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165. Tipsters can remain anonymous and could be eligible to receive a reward of up to $2,000.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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