Closing arguments presented in Hitchcock murder trial

Closing arguments wrapped up Monday in the trial of two Carter County brothers accused of murdering their father. Jacob and Joshua Hitchcock both face charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Prosecutors say they planned to kill their father, William “Bill” Hitchcock, after he planned to sell property they would have inherited. Bill Hitchcock was found dead on his Elizabethton property by fishermen on the Watauga River in 2023, and an autopsy revealed he had been shot three times. The brothers claim the killing was in self defense.