The Murder of James ‘Jim’ Cannon

For this case, I watched an episode of Southern Fried Homicide. It’s season 3 episode 5, titled ‘Music City Murder.’

A 44-year-old father and husband is found dead in his home.

Background

James ‘Jim’ Cannon, a former lawyer, met his future wife, Kelley, while she was a medical school student. They got married in the spring of 1996. Jim had made some bad investments, and Kelley dropped out of school. Kelley’s family wasn’t too happy about this, but it didn’t seem to matter to the couple. They would go on to have 3 children together.

After a few failed business ventures, Jim decided to start a business collecting bad checks from hospitals. This business took off, and soon, Jim and Kelley were rich. They moved into a large home located at 710 Bowling Ave. in Nashville. They also bought nice cars, and jewelry. It seemed like their life was perfect.

Kelley’s Addiction

After they moved into their new house, Kelley was tasked with fixing up the house. Kelley did an amazing job, and Jim was proud of her.

*The Cannon house located at 710 Bowling Avenue in Nashville, Tennessee*

One day, Kelley was painting when she fell off a ladder. Kelley claimed to have hurt her back, and was given medication for it. She soon became dependent on the medication, and could barely go a few hours without it.

Kelley went to rehab for a month, and returned home in April 2008. She seemed to be doing better. However, Jim and Kelley’s marriage was falling apart. Jim leased a nearby apartment for Kelley, and was ready to file for divorce.

Shortly before his death, Jim confided in his friends that he wanted to give their marriage one more chance.

The Murder

On the morning of June 23, 2008, a 911 call came into the Nashville police. The call was from a housekeeper that worked for the Cannon family.

She and the family nanny had arrived at the house. They found it odd because the house was so quiet and messy. The youngest child was usually awake by then. The housekeeper walked upstairs hoping to find the children. They were nowhere to be found. Instead, the housekeeper discovered the body of Jim, in one of the children’s closets.

The police arrived. They noticed several beer cans and bottles of wine around the house. The back door was open, and a window was also found partially open. The police thought maybe it could’ve been a robbery gone wrong. However, Jim’s Rolex watch, and several other pieces of jewelry hadn’t been taken.

Jim had been found in the closet. The housekeeper had found the dresser in the room against the door. Jim had ligature marks around his neck, and a ripped phone cord was found next to him. A bottle of bleach and a torn piece of a white latex glove was also found. Actually, there were several gloves found in odd places around the house and yard. These were collected for evidence.

The police noticed that Kelley and their 3 kids were nowhere to be found. The housekeeper and nanny told the police that they were probably at the apartment that Jim had leased. They were right.

The Alibi

The police went to the apartment, and found Kelley and the kids. The kids were taken into a separate room before they broke the news to Kelley.

Kelley, a 5’0” petite brunette, seemed emotional and shocked about the news. She kept saying, “he’s dead, and he was found alone?” Kelley admitted that she and Jim were having issues in their marriage. She said he never paid attention to her and the kids, and had a brief affair. Kelley said Jim had wanted a divorce.

The police took note of Kelley’s size and appearance. They thought there was no way this petite woman could’ve overpowered Jim. Kelley was barely 90 pounds, while Jim was about 190.

The police asked Kelley where she had been the night before. Kelley said she had been out to dinner with a good friend. The police spoke to Kelley’s friend, and she confirmed that they had been at dinner. She did mention that Kelley had taken a phone call from Jim. Kelley told her that Jim said he was afraid and was being threatened. Kelley rushed through dinner, and went home.

Kelley told the police that she did go to Jim’s house on the night of June 22. She entered the house, and noticed that Jim had been drinking. Jim was nowhere to be found, but she heard the youngest child, who was about 18 months old, crying. Kelley said she took the kids, and drove them to the apartment.

Other Possible Suspects

The police did speak to the woman that Jim had a brief affair with. Jim had known this woman since they were younger, but the affair didn’t last long. The woman said she hadn’t heard from Jim for awhile. The police were able to rule her out.

Another possible suspect was a former colleague of Jim’s. This man had claimed to have helped Jim build his business. He said Jim ruined his life and career after he was fired. He spoke to everyone around town who would listen about how much he hated Jim. The police were able to rule him out too.

The police turned back to Kelley, and discovered that she had many male friends. It has been insinuated that Kelley also had an affair.

The police obtained a warrant for Kelley’s apartment. On the day that they went there with the warrant, Kelley wasn’t home. They waited, and soon, she showed up with one of her male friends. The male saw the police presence, and fled.

The man was a friend that Kelley had met in rehab. Kelley had several other men that she had been in contact with before Jim’s death. These men were looked into, but seemed to not have been involved.

A Different Person

The police learned that in February 2008, Kelley’s behavior was spiraling due to her drug addiction. Kelley was sent to rehab, and came home a month later.

On May 21, Jim contacted the police. In the call, Jim told the police, “my wife is an addict. She has my baby, and is beating on the car.” Kelley put her baby in the car, rammed into Jim’s car, and then fled as the police arrived.

The police didn’t pursue a high speed chase, but tracked Kelley’s GPS. Kelley was arrested, and charged with reckless endangerment, aggravated assault and evading arrest.

Jim filed and was granted an order of protection. He then leased the apartment for Kelley, and told her that he wanted a divorce. He had also told her that he was going to have custody of the kids.

Sometime after this, Kelley went to a bar in Nashville, and complained to the staff about her husband. The bartender came forward after seeing a news broadcast about Jim’s case. He recognized Kelley as being the woman who seemed to have made threats against her husband.

The Evidence

The police turned back to Kelley’s friend, Amy, who she had gone to dinner with on June 22. Amy was now telling the police that Kelley was the one who was making threats against Jim in their phone call. She also said Kelley left the dinner about 30 minutes earlier than she originally thought.

The police went back to Kelley’s apartment with another warrant. They asked her to turn over her clothes that she had been wearing, a long black sweater and dark jeans. They also found a box of white store bought white latex gloves.

The police searched through several store surveillance cameras. The police found Kelley on camera at a local pharmacy on June 22, around 11pm. Kelley, in her dark clothing, can be seen taking the box of latex gloves, and leaving the store. Kelley obviously could’ve purchased a box of gloves, but didn’t want to be seen purchasing them.

The lab contacted the police with their results from the latex glove tip. The inside of the glove had Kelley’s DNA, and the outside had Jim’s blood on it.

Kelley claimed she was innocent. On July 10, 2008, Kelley was arrested and charged with first degree murder.

The Conviction

On April 26, 2010, Kelley went on trial.

The defense said Kelley was small, and at this point, very unhealthy. They said there was no way she could’ve overpowered and strangle her husband.

The prosecution said the evidence only led to Kelley. They said Kelley didn’t want to lose her kids, the house, and everything else that her privileged life gave her.

The medical examiner testified that Jim’s blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit. With this, the prosecution said that Kelley could’ve overpowered a drunk Jim.

Kelley’s oldest son testified that Kelley was a different person when she was on drugs, and he had seen her threaten Jim.

The prosecution said Kelley decided while she was at dinner, that she was going to kill Jim. Jim had threatened to take the kids away from her. Kelley strangled Jim, put him in the closet, put the dresser against the door, and took the kids to the apartment.

The jury deliberated for only one hour before finding Kelley Cannon guilty of premeditated murder. She was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 51 years.

To this day, Kelley claims she is innocent, and was framed.