Man Pleads Guilty to Murder Charge

The second of four suspects charged in the beating death of a Cowan man has been convicted
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports 29-year-old Todd E. Dalton pleaded guilty Wednesday in Franklin County Circuit Court to facilitating first-degree murder in Corey N. Matthews’ death.
Matthews’ body was found in 2013 in a cornfield outside of Cowan. Authorities say he had been struck 14 times with a hammer.
Dalton was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Dalton is one of four men charged in Matthews’ slaying. David G. Jenkins was found guilty last year and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Two other suspects, 29-year-old Corey Lanier and 28-year-old Coty Keith Holmes, are each charged with first-degree murder and felony murder in Matthews’ death. Their court dates are pending. At one time all of the men lived in Coffee County. One or more have been linked to a white supremacy group.