Chattanooga, TN – A Chattanooga jury concluded lengthy deliberations late Saturday, unable to reach a consensus on two murder charges against 49-year-old Gabriel Boykins, accused in the brutal killings of a local mother and her young daughter. The bodies were discovered discarded near a wooded area by a Greenwood Road church. The jury found Boykins guilty on a lesser charge of tampering with evidence.
The case has gripped the local community since the victims, Tamara Church, 40, and her 8-year-old daughter Aquarious Church, were reported missing on May 17, 2020. Boykins faced charges of premeditated murder in their deaths.
Over seven hours of deliberation followed a trial where the state struggled to establish a clear motive for the killings, according to Boykins’ defense attorney, Sam Hudson. Hudson emphasized the absence of direct evidence tying Boykins to the crime scene at the time the victims disappeared.
Prosecutors, led by Aaron Chaplin, argued that although the motive was unclear, the circumstantial evidence was compelling enough to convict Boykins. “The nature of this crime was exceptionally violent,” Chaplin stated during the trial, noting the autopsy reports which showed Tamara had been strangled and beaten, while Aquarious suffered severe blunt trauma to her head and face.
Chaplin painted a chilling picture for the jury, suggesting that one victim may have been forced to witness the other’s murder. He further noted that Tamara’s death would have taken several agonizing minutes.
Investigations revealed a large amount of blood in Boykins’ residence on Foust Street, where Tamara often stayed, despite their long-ended romantic involvement. Additional evidence was found at a nearby electric supply company’s storage yard, where a supervisor discovered blood that was never reported to police.
Adding to the prosecution’s case were cell phone records placing Tamara Church near these locations on the day she went missing. That evening, her newly purchased white Honda Odyssey van was found burnt.
Security footage captured a man walking near the electric company on the night of the disappearance, recognized by two of Church’s children as Boykins, though he denied the claims. Following the incident, Boykins purportedly left Chattanooga, only to return later to collect one of Ms. Church’s sons for a trip. His departure, initially with Church’s other children while she searched for her family, raised suspicions.
Prosecutor Chaplin highlighted that Boykins had searched online for ways to leave town and how to commit suicide. Meanwhile, Hudson countered that the location where the bodies were found, an enclosed electric lot, was an unlikely place for a murder, suggesting that animal activity might have tampered with the evidence.
Hudson also contested the reliability of the chemical blood detector used and noted the absence of blood trace in items from Boykins’ house sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. He further challenged the lack of DNA evidence directly linking Boykins to the crime, and discussed a camouflage bandana found at the site, which was associated with Boykins but had untested hairs on it.
Testimony from Ulysses Bradley, a long-time boyfriend of Tamara Church who last saw her the day she disappeared, complicated the case further. Initially, Ms. Church’s children suspected Bradley, but later retracted their accusation.
The jury’s inability to reach a verdict on the murder charges means the case remains unresolved, leaving the community and grieving family in continued anguish as they seek justice for Tamara and Aquarious Church. Further proceedings are anticipated as the prosecution considers its next steps.