Savannah Copeland, 13, disappeared overnight in late October in Tennessee. Her father, Michael Copeland, worried about her, decided to track her location and found her body in the woods on October 22. Police then arrested 15-year-old Malakiah Lamar Harris and charged him with second-degree murder.
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The Knox County Sheriff's Office issued a statement on October 23 in which they described how Michael Copeland reported finding Savannah's body at Cranley Road. Authorities pronounced Savannah dead at the scene. "Later in the evening, Detectives arrested a fifteen-year-old male from Powell and charged him with second-degree murder," reads the statement. "The suspect is being held at the Richard L. Bean Detention Facility."
A petition released by the court stated that Savannah met Harris around midnight on October 22. Allegedly, Harris proceeded to stab the victim multiple times by using a pocketknife, leaving the scene without telling anybody. "I think it was a lack of compassion and a lack of empathy that drove the hand that took my daughter's life," Michael Copeland said about the suspect, according to WVLT.
Michael Copeland and the prosecutors asked the court to try Malakiah Lamar Harris as an adult. The judge set a court hearing on January 16, 2025.
A Heartbreaking Loss
Knoxy County Sheriff Tom Spangler spoke about Savannah's death in the October statement. "We ask you to keep the family of the victim, the Powell community, and our responding personnel in your prayers," Spangler said. "As law enforcement professionals, nothing can prepare us for days like yesterday."
Michael Copeland, stricken with loss, struggles to deal with his daughter's death. "Right now there's not a lot of joy or genuine happiness," he said. However, the continuous support he has received from family, friends, and the community, encourages him to move forward.
"It helps to kind of restore my faith in God and everyone around us," he said. "I'm not going to allow my heart to be filled with that kind of rage, it's going to be filled with compassion. That's the only way I know how to defeat evil."
Scott Copeland set up a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of Michael. It has raised more than $50,000 and will help cover funeral expenses and loss of income. "Savannah was a joy to her parents, brother Britton and twin brother Kasey, family, and friends," reads the campaign's description. "She lost her young life in a senseless manner leaving behind her devastated family."
