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Posted: 6:26 PM Sep 23, 2009
Investigation continues in Knox businessman's murder
Knox County Sheriff's detectives remained inside the store Wednesday that was the site of the murder of a Corryton man Tuesday afternoon.
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Knox County Sheriff's detectives remained inside the store Wednesday that was the site of the murder of a Corryton man Tuesday afternoon.
James "Jim" Harrison Mullins, 64, was found dead around 4 p.m. Wednesday inside the Rutledge Pike Discount store.
A customer walked into the store and found Mullins shot to death.
Mullins' brother, Sonny Mullins, says he is trying to help detectives determine exactly what was stolen.
Sonny says the register drawer was taken, and that Jim's gun and wedding band are missing, along with his wife's ring that was in the register. However, Sonny says none of that was worth taking his brother's life.
"Jim just smiled at everything in life. He's just a good guy."
Sonny says he lost more than a brother, he lost his best friend.
A man he spent every morning with at the store, having coffee and a few laughs.
"He was the Corryton comedian because he always had something funny to say."
Jim's sister-in-law Sandy Titus says, "He loved this place. This was home. He hardly went home to go home. I mean he spent his life here."
Mullins' loved ones remember him as a quiet man with a passion for a family tradition.
"His father had the store before him and he worked in this store as a kid," Sandy says. "His children have worked in the store with him as they've grown up. So it's been a part of the community for years."
Family and friends say he was at the store morning and night.
"He greeted everybody when he came through the store. 90 percent of the time by name," Sandy says.
Emily Kimbrough has shopped at Jim's store her entire life, remembering him as kind and generous.
"It was on my daughters birthday, he gave her stuff. She pulled a tooth, came in, and he gave her stuff."
Even a stray cat at the store caught Jim's attention and affection, becoming a staple at the counter, just like Jim.
"He always sat with him every time Jim would sit down," Jim's sister, Bobbie Mullins, says. "And Sylvester would greet the customers and a lot of people would bring him snacks and things."
Now family members are left to remember the good times they had with him.
"We just can't sit," Sandy says. "The hardest thing is to just sit here and think."
"He sure didn't deserve this," Sonny says. "He did not deserve to die a horrible death and I just hope they get these guys."
Funeral arrangements have been set for Jim.
The receiving of friends will be Friday night from 5:00 until 7:00 at Bridges Funeral Home on Rutledge Pike, and the memorial service will immediately follow.
The burial service will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at Roseberry Cemetery.
The Knox County Sheriff's Department is trying to gather as much information as possible. The FBI is assisting in the investigation. But they are asking if anyone has any information to call 865-215-2243.
But for now, the deputies says they do not have any suspects. They only have two vague vehicle descriptions: A silver and blue truck and a red vehicle.
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