BRISTOL, Tenn. — An Alabama man previously indicted in connection to the 2002 disappearance and murder of a Bristol man is now facing additional charges, according to a news release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Christopher James Havrilla, 51, was indicted last week by a Sullivan County Grand Jury on one count of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree murder in perpetration of kidnapping, one count of especially aggravated kidnapping, one count of tampering with evidence, one count of abuse of a corpse and two counts of making a false report, the release stated.
The new charges come after more information was uncovered during the ongoing investigation into the death of Cody Scott Matney, 24, who disappeared from a business along West State Street in Bristol in April of 2002.
Havrilla was initially indicted in March and arrested in Orange Beach, Alabama. He was later extradited to Tennessee and booked into the Sullivan County Jail.
He was arraigned on the additional charges last week. As of Monday, Havrilla remains in the Sullivan County Jail on a $1 million bond. If he posts bond, he will be required to wear an ankle monitor, the TBI stated.
The indictment follows a joint investigation by the TBI, the Bristol Police Department, the 2nd Judicial District Attorney General’s Office and the Virginia State Police.
The investigation is still active. Authorities believe other individuals from the Bristol, Tennessee, and Bristol, Virginia, areas may have additional information about Matney’s disappearance and death.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Bristol Tennessee Police Department at 423-968-1426 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
The TBI emphasized that the charges are accusations, and Havrilla is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
