Bio 

Olen Edward "Eddie" Hutchison, of Campbell County, Tennessee, ran a drug operation prior to 1988. Two men who worked for him in that business, Rick Miller and Phil Varnadore, would later become key participants in his plot to kill Hugh Huddleston.

Murder Story

Hutchison purchased a large life insurance policy on Hugh Huddleston, naming himself as the sole beneficiary, with a payout reportedly worth close to $800,000 including other benefits. Huddleston, who could not swim, had a close, father-son-like relationship with a 19-year-old co-defendant and had reportedly named that young man a beneficiary of his own will details that emerged during the investigation. 

Hutchison first asked his employee, Rick Miller, to kill Huddleston, but Miller refused. He then turned to another employee, Phil Varnadore, who agreed to "get his boys to do it" in exchange for $25,000 to $50,000. After initially discussing killing Huddleston during a hunting trip, Hutchison and Varnadore settled on drowning him during a fishing trip instead, since Huddleston could not swim. Varnadore designated Wilbur Hatmaker as the actual killer; Hatmaker and Miller scouted out a suitable location on Norris Lake in advance.

On August 14, 1988, Chip Gaylor described as Huddleston's trusted friend, who had also conspired with Hutchison arranged a fishing trip with Huddleston for that day. Only Miller showed up alongside Huddleston, and the two rented a pontoon boat on Norris Lake. After dark, Hatmaker and a second accomplice, John Rollyson, arrived in a separate boat and joined Huddleston and Miller under the pretense of being Miller's friends. According to the plan, Miller left the boat under the pretext of going to get fishing bait. Rollyson later testified that once Miller was gone, Hatmaker pushed Huddleston into the water and wiped down the boat with a rag; Hatmaker had promised Rollyson $12,500 for his role, to be paid within 90 days matching the payout period specified in Hutchison's insurance policy.

When Miller returned to the boat, Huddleston, Hatmaker, and Rollyson were all gone. Miller reported Huddleston missing, and his body was recovered later that day in 15 feet of water. There were no obvious signs of violence, though the medical examiner later identified a deep bruise on the victim's scalp behind his right ear, consistent with a blow from a blunt object.

Investigators searching Hutchison's home recovered the recently purchased life insurance policy on Huddleston's life, along with a promissory note signed by the other conspirators, corroborating the testimony later given by cooperating co-conspirators Miller and Rollyson. At trial, Hutchison testified in his own defense, claiming that a $25,000 loan and the insurance policy used as collateral for it represented a legitimate business arrangement with Huddleston, to whom he had loaned money in the past, and denying any involvement in his death.

The jury rejected this defense and convicted Hutchison of first-degree murder, conspiracy to take a life, and solicitation to commit first-degree murder. He was tried jointly with Chip Gaylor. In closing arguments, the prosecutor described Hutchison as "one with a wicked and depraved heart who would end a life for money," attributing his motive to greed intended to fund partying, girlfriends, and further investment in drug trafficking. 

Hutchison was sentenced to death for the murder on January 18, 1991, along with a total of 22 years for the conspiracy and solicitation convictions. His conviction and death sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1994 (State v. Hutchison, 898 S.W.2d 161), and a subsequent post-conviction appeal was also denied.

Of the seven men implicated in the conspiracy, Hutchison was the only one sentenced to death. Wilbur Hatmaker, who personally drowned Huddleston, received a life sentence. This disparity, the man who organized and financed the killing receiving death while the man who physically carried it out received only life, made Hutchison's case a focal point for public demonstrations and academic forums examining inconsistencies in how Tennessee's death penalty was applied.

Olen Edward Hutchison died in custody at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 19, 2014, at age 61. He was pronounced dead at 8:55 a.m.; the Tennessee Department of Correction attributed his death to natural causes. He was never executed.