Teen Stabbed and Handcuffed to a Tree, Left to Die with Murdered Friend
By: Tasha Reynolds
Tags: Parole, Attempted Murder, Survival, True Crime, Murder

Teen Stabbed and Handcuffed to a Tree, Left to Die with Murdered Friend

A killer pretends to be a police officer and tricks two girls into trusting him — one is viciously murdered, and the other fights against terrible odds to survive. Tasha Reynolds Follow Sep 2 · 4 min read

On July 20th, 1980, in Morristown, TN, a man saw 16 year old Mary Jones and 15 year old Mitzi Holt Sizemore walking down the road together. He stopped and convinced the two girls that he was a police officer looking for a teenager who had run away from home, and asked for their help. When he told them the name of the supposed runaway and it was actually the name of one of their friends, the two girls believed him and made the decision to climb into his truck. One of them would never be seen alive again.

The stranger drove the girls to a secluded area and took them into the woods. He first stabbed Mitzi, cut her throat, and handcuffed her to a tree. Then he attacked Mary, raping her before stabbing her as well. He returned to Mitzi and attacked her again, thinking he was ensuring she wouldn’t survive, but he failed.

16 year old Mary Jones — source Citizen Tribune

With an astounding will to survive despite her wounds and after the trauma of hearing her friend’s assault and murder, Mitzi injured herself further in order to pull her wrists out of her handcuffs. She made her way through the woods to nearby houses, where the residents called for help and she was rushed to the hospital.

After an intense investigation with Mitzi’s help, Randy Lee May was identified as the killer. To make matters worse, he was in a program training to be a police officer and used what he was learning for the exact opposite purpose they were intended for. He permanently scarred his community rather than serving and protecting it, and as a result he was sentenced to 60 years in a maximum security facility for murder and attempted murder.

Randy May’s mugshot as shown in the news

Unfortunately this story shares a common theme with several others I’ve seen recently. According to the family, May only spent one year of his sentence in a maximum security before being sent to a minimum security facility. In recent years, he was coming up for parole every year, victimizing Mitzi and Mary’s family again and again. Every time he’s faced the parole board for his next hearing, the community has turned out in support of everyone fighting tooth and nail to keep this convicted killer behind bars.

Vigils are held, and Mary’s family shows up with pictures, news clippings, and every bit of information they can possibly find to assist with the fight. Thankfully in 2019, the board determined that May wouldn’t have another opportunity to be released until 2023.

The current Sheriff of Hamblen County was a detective at the time, and has also struggled for years as a result of what he encountered during this case.

“To me it was yesterday. That’s the tragedy of the mind. The mind won’t let me forget.”

While Mary’s family also dreads May’s possible release, Mitzi is the one with the most to fear. I can only imagine the nightmares that have plagued her for decades. Not only did she have to process her own experiences — surviving stab wounds to the chest and a cut throat, left handcuffed to a tree to die — she’s also had to live with the trauma of hearing her close friend being assaulted and murdered.

In two years, 43 years after her terrifying experience, the man who has haunted her for most of her life will get another opportunity at freedom. Instead of knowing her monster is in prison, she’ll have to try to sleep every night wondering if she’ll wake up to find him in her home.

References:

Sheriff recalls 1980 murder of Mary Jones: ‘It was the most terrible crime scene I have ever worked or witnessed.’ | WATE 6 On Your Side

Survivor, City of Morristown protest parole hearing of convicted murderer (wate.com)

Killer Randy Lee May’s parole denied for four years | Local News | citizentribune.com

Nearly 39 years after brutal murder & attack, convicted killer could be freed | WATE 6 On Your Side

Man who brutally murdered Morristown teen in 1980 up for parole in August (wjhl.com)

Will Mary Jones’ killer be freed? | Local News | citizentribune.com

Survivor of brutal Hamblen Co. attack: “He’s a monster” | wbir.com