Authorities Have ‘Person Of Interest’ In Bluff City Slaying

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. – A “person of interest” has been named in a Bluff City homicide investigation, Sullivan County Sheriff’s officials said Tuesday afternoon.

Abrey Wayne Fortner, 30, who authorities say is considered armed and dangerous, is wanted for questioning in the case, said Capt. Keith Elton.

“They want to talk to him in reference to the homicide,” Elton said. “[Investigators] will not say if he’s considered a suspect.”

On Sunday, police discovered the body of 41-year-old Arthur T. Burchard in his apartment in the 4000 block of Bluff City Highway. Burchard had been stabbed to death and appeared to have been dead for several days, Sheriff Wayne Anderson said on Monday.

Investigators released little information about Fortner, including where he’s from, and they would not elaborate on his relationship with Burchard or his connection to the investigation, Elton said.
Anderson said no evidence was found of forced entry and nothing appeared to be missing.

Fortner, who may be using the alias “Brandon Lawson” and who sometimes goes by the name “Buster,” is also wanted for charges issued in Chesapeake, Va., Elton said. He could not elaborate on the nature of those charges.

According to the Web site for the Smithfield, Va., Police Department, there are outstanding warrants for Abrey Wayne Fortner, 30, of Chesapeake, on charges of felonious assault and abduction.

A $2,000 reward is being offered by federal authorities for information that leads to Fortner’s arrest, according to a news release from the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office.

He is 6 feet tall, weighs 220 pounds and has brown eyes and brown hair. However, he might have altered his appearance, authorities said.

Christina Burchard, Arthur Burchard’s wife, said Tuesday she didn’t think she’d heard the name, or the alias, before. She did not know how or if her estranged husband knew him.

“There is so much running through my head right now that I don’t know if I would recognize the name if I knew it,” she said. “But since I don’t think I’ve ever heard the name, it’s not like he was his best friend. My husband knew a lot of people. He made a lot of friends.”

Detectives spent the third day of the investigation interviewing witnesses and looking at evidence, said Bluff City Police Chief David Nelson.

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