A 67-year-old Rhea County man has died in the Loudon County Jail while awaiting trial for murder.
John Lee Nevans had been charged in the September death of Tellico Village resident Ronald Kronholm.
Nevans died Thursday morning of an apparent heart attack. He had recently been in poor health.
Nevans and Kronholm had been business partners. Kronholm's wife discovered the wheelchair-bound man dead at home from several gunshot wounds after a visit by Nevans.
Both men were contractors.
Kronholm also lived in Rhea County before moving to Tellico Village in Loudon County.
Nevans, who moved to Dayton in 1970, co-developed the Richland Park Shopping Center in Dayton. He was the former president of the East Tennessee Savings and Loan and served as a board member of We Care Social Services in Dayton. He was a founding board member of the Rhea Family YMCA in Dayton and a member of the Dayton Church of Christ.