Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines | The Murder of Katherine Jenkins

Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines is the Tennessee death row prisoner convicted of robbing, sexually assaulting and fatally stabbing 54-year-old motel maid Katherine Jean Jenkins inside Room 21 of the CeBon Motel near Kingston Springs in March 1985, a killing that has now carried him through four decades of appeals and into a scheduled 2026 execution date.

Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines | Pic Credit Murderpedia

Last Update November 23, 2025

• Full Name: Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines
• State: Tennessee
• County of Conviction: Cheatham County
• Date of Crime: March 3, 1985 CaseMine
• Location: CeBon Motel, Kingston Springs, just off I-40 west of Nashville CaseMine+1
• Victim: Katherine Jean “Kathy” Jenkins, 54, motel maid CaseMine
• Convictions: First-degree murder, felony murder (in the course of robbery / sexual assault), related robbery and theft counts Justia Law
• Sentence: Death (resentenced to death after penalty-phase errors in the first trial) Newspapers.com+1
• Current Status: On Tennessee death row at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Offender #109293
• Execution Date: Scheduled for August 13, 2026, by order of the Tennessee Supreme Court (death warrant issued October 1, 2025) Tennessee Courts+1

Classification & Characteristics

Hines sits in the single-victim robbery/sexual assault murder category rather than among Tennessee’s serial killers. Prosecutors characterized the CeBon Motel crime as a brutal, opportunistic attack: a lone maid left in charge of the property, a bank bag of money for change and a killer who turned a Sunday housekeeping routine into a deadly encounter. The victim was found partially undressed, her underwear torn, a $20 bill tucked under her watchband, and her body wrapped in a sheet – details that suggested both sexual violence and staging. CaseMine+2Justia Law+2

At sentencing, the state relied on aggravating factors familiar in capital cases: Hines’s prior violent felony convictions, the murder’s “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel” nature, and the fact that it occurred during other statutorily listed felonies such as robbery and rape. The Tennessee Supreme Court would later uphold his guilt but order a new penalty phase because jurors were not properly instructed on those aggravators – a misstep that sent the case back for resentencing but ultimately ended with the same result: death. CaseMine+1

Timeline of the Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines Case →

• March 3, 1985 – CeBon Motel murder. Katherine Jenkins is left in charge of the CeBon Motel with a bank bag of cash for change. Around midday, she is found dead in Room 21, wrapped in a sheet, with multiple stab wounds and evidence of sexual assault. Her Volvo, wallet, and keys are missing. CaseMine+2Sixth Circuit Court+2
• Later March 3–4, 1985 – Flight toward Kentucky. Witnesses see a man driving Jenkins’s Volvo away from the motel toward Nashville. Hours later, Hines is encountered along the interstate and eventually found in possession of Jenkins’s car, her wallet, and keys, wearing a bloody shirt and telling shifting stories about stabbing or fighting people that day. Justia Law+1
• 1985–1986 – Trial and death sentence. A Cheatham County jury convicts Hines of first-degree murder and related felonies and sentences him to death; the court finds multiple aggravating circumstances, including prior violent felonies and an “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel” killing during a robbery/sexual assault. CaseMine
• September 6, 1988 – Direct appeal. In State v. Hines, the Tennessee Supreme Court affirms his conviction but sets aside the original death sentence and remands for a new sentencing hearing because of improper penalty-phase instructions. CaseMine
• Late 1980s–1990s – Resentencing and renewed death sentence. Hines is again sentenced to death after a resentencing hearing where the state presents additional aggravating evidence, including prior violent crimes and expert testimony about the cruelty of the attack. Murderpedia+1
• 2004 – Post-conviction ruling. In Hines v. State (Tenn. Crim. App.), the court denies post-conviction relief after reviewing claims of ineffective assistance, mitigation failures, and other errors, emphasizing the “strength of proof” against him. Tennessee Courts
• May 2020 – Federal habeas relief granted. A divided Sixth Circuit panel in Hines v. Mays finds that Hines’s trial counsel were ineffective for failing to fully develop an alternate-suspect theory involving the man who discovered Jenkins’s body, and orders a new trial/sentencing. Justia Law+1
• March 29, 2021 – U.S. Supreme Court reversal. In Mays v. Hines, the U.S. Supreme Court summarily reverses the Sixth Circuit, chastising it for ignoring “overwhelming evidence” of guilt and reinstating Tennessee’s judgment. Legal Information Institute+1
• October 1, 2025 – Execution date set. The Tennessee Supreme Court issues a sweeping order setting multiple execution dates, including August 13, 2026, for Hines. Tennessee Courts+1

Case Summary | Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines

In March 1985, 54-year-old motel maid Katherine Jenkins reported for work at the CeBon Motel in Kingston Springs, Tennessee. By late morning she had been put in charge of the property and given a bank bag of cash to make change for departing guests. Hours later, a visitor unlocked Room 21 and found her dead – wrapped in a sheet, partially disrobed, with her underwear torn away and multiple stab wounds to her chest and body. Her Volvo, wallet and keys were gone. CaseMine+2Sixth Circuit Court+2

Investigators learned that Anthony Hines, a 24-year-old traveler who had recently boarded a bus from North Carolina toward Kentucky, had checked into the CeBon Motel shortly before the murder. Within hours of the killing, witnesses saw Jenkins’s Volvo speeding away from the motel; Hines was later found on the interstate north of Nashville in possession of the car, her keys on a distinctive keychain and her wallet discarded near where the car was abandoned. CaseMine+2Justia Law+2

Family members told police that Hines had arrived in Kentucky wearing a bloody shirt and boasting about stabbing someone at a motel; to one relative, he demonstrated how he had knifed a supposed assailant. When confronted by law enforcement, Hines first denied killing Jenkins, then offered to confess if authorities could “guarantee him the death penalty.” A jury convicted him of first-degree murder and imposed death, a sentence that stood even after a resentencing and decades of state and federal appeals. Justia Law+1

Today, Hines remains on Tennessee’s death row at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution with a warrant setting his execution for August 13, 2026. Nashville Scene

🕊️Victim of Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines

• Katherine Jean “Kathy” Jenkins, 54
  Jenkins was a middle-aged maid working at the CeBon Motel off I-40 at Kingston Springs. On March 3, 1985, she was left in charge of the property with a bank bag of small bills for guest check-outs. She never made it home. She was found in Room 21, wrapped in a sheet, partially undressed, with her body bearing numerous stab wounds and evidence of sexual assault. CaseMine+2Sixth Circuit Court+2

→ FAQs

Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines | CeBon Motel Murder of Katherine Jenkins

👉 The Story

A Drifter and a Sunday Motel Shift

In early 1985, Anthony Hines was a 24-year-old traveling between states, relying on others for money, lodging and rides. Two days before the murder, he boarded a bus in North Carolina bound for Kentucky with a ticket paid for by his girlfriend’s mother and a modest amount of cash in his pocket. Witnesses later recalled that he carried a hunting-style knife concealed under his shirt as he left. CaseMine+1

His route took him through the Nashville area. Instead of going straight on to Kentucky, Hines stepped off the path and into the CeBon Motel near Kingston Springs, just off Interstate 40. There, he checked in – one more anonymous traveler in a roadside lodge where staff knew regulars and wary eyes watched the front office. That Sunday, the motel’s manager eventually handed the keys and a bank bag of cash to a trusted maid: Katherine Jenkins. She would run the desk while the manager was away. Sixth Circuit Court+2Supreme Court+2

Room 21

At some point late that morning, Jenkins wheeled her cleaning cart to Room 21. When she didn’t answer the phone or appear at the office, no one realized right away that something had gone terribly wrong. Sometime between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m., a visitor took a key from the office and opened the door. Inside, Jenkins lay dead – wrapped in a sheet on the floor. CaseMine

Her outer clothing had been pulled up to her chest. Her panties were in torn pieces elsewhere in the room. A $20 bill had been tucked under the band of her wristwatch, an eerie detail that prosecutors later argued showed both sexual humiliation and staging. The medical examiner documented multiple deep stab wounds to her chest, additional cuts to her neck and clavicle, and a penetrating wound that traveled from the vagina into the abdominal cavity. The scene suggested a sudden, furious attack carried out at close range. CaseMine+1

Missing were the motel’s bank bag of money, Jenkins’s wallet and keys and her Volvo. Whoever had killed her had not left on foot.

A Trail of Blood and Stories

Shortly after noon, another maid saw someone driving Jenkins’s Volvo away from the CeBon Motel’s driveway and heading toward Nashville at high speed. Unable to catch up, she watched the car disappear along I-40. Later that day, the Volvo was spotted again on I-65 north of Nashville, headed toward Kentucky. The man behind the wheel: Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines. Murderpedia+2Sixth Circuit Court+2

By the time family members in Kentucky saw Hines, his shirt was bloodstained. Relatives noticed him carrying keys on a distinctive keychain and later learned those keys belonged to Jenkins. According to the U.S. Supreme Court’s summary of the evidence, Hines told different versions of what happened: he claimed to have stabbed a male employee at a motel, spoke of fights with supposed assailants and showed a family member how he had used the knife. Supreme Court+1

When law enforcement finally confronted him, Hines admitted taking the car but denied killing the woman – at least at first. Then he made a chilling offer: if officers could “guarantee him the death penalty,” he would confess and tell them everything they wanted to know. Investigators also recovered Jenkins’s wallet near where the Volvo had been abandoned and discovered knife marks in the walls of Hines’s motel room that were similar in size to the wounds found on Jenkins’s body. Sixth Circuit Court+1

Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines

Trial, Death, and a Vacated Sentence

At trial in Cheatham County, prosecutors built their case largely on this circumstantial but layered evidence: Hines’s presence at the CeBon Motel, Jenkins’s murder while he was there, his sudden departure in her car, his possession of her keys and wallet, the bloody shirt, his shifting stories about stabbing someone and his morbid fixation on the death penalty. The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. CaseMine+1

During the penalty phase, the state urged the jury to find multiple statutory aggravators: prior violent felony convictions, an especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel killing involving torture or depravity of mind, and a murder committed during felonies such as rape and robbery. The panel returned a death sentence. In 1988, the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the conviction but determined that the jury instructions on certain aggravators did not meet evolving constitutional standards and remanded for a new sentencing hearing. CaseMine

Resentencing and the Long Shadow of Post-Conviction

On resentencing, the state again presented the brutality of the crime and Hines’s violent history. Defense counsel offered mitigation about his abusive childhood, substance abuse, and mental health struggles, but the jury once more found that the aggravating factors outweighed any mitigating evidence and re-imposed death. Over the next several years, Hines’s attorneys pursued post-conviction relief in state court, arguing that trial counsel had failed to properly investigate both mitigation and possible alternate suspects. Tennessee Courts+2Murderpedia+2

In 2004, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals issued a lengthy opinion rejecting those claims, concluding that while counsel’s performance was imperfect, Hines had not shown prejudice given the strength of the evidence against him. The court described an abusive upbringing, addiction issues, and chaotic family dynamics – factors that would later resurface as mitigation themes – but ultimately left the death sentence in place. Tennessee Courts+1

An Alternate Suspect and a Supreme Court Smackdown

Years later, post-conviction proceedings revealed that the man who discovered Jenkins’s body, Ken Jones, had not simply happened upon the motel that day. He admitted he was there for a clandestine Sunday rendezvous with a woman who was not his wife and that they were regulars at the CeBon Motel. This fueled a new defense theory that trial counsel were ineffective for failing to fully develop Jones as a potential alternate suspect and to expose inconsistencies in his account. Tennessee Courts+1

In 2020, a divided Sixth Circuit panel agreed, ruling that counsel’s failure to fully investigate and attack Jones’s credibility and motives undermined confidence in the verdict and sentence. The court granted habeas relief, effectively opening the door to new proceedings. But Tennessee authorities appealed — and in March 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court slammed that door shut. Justia Law+2CaseLaw+2

In Mays v. Hines, the Court faulted the Sixth Circuit for ignoring what it called “voluminous” and “overwhelming” evidence tying Hines to the crime: his flight in a bloody shirt, his possession of Jenkins’s keys, wallet and car, his repeated admissions about stabbing someone at the motel, and the physical evidence linking him to both the scene and the stolen vehicle. Under AEDPA’s deferential standard, the justices held, federal courts had no license to second-guess Tennessee’s rejection of the ineffective-assistance claim. Hines’s death sentence was reinstated. Legal Information Institute+1

A Date on the Calendar

After the Supreme Court ruling, Hines’s avenues for relief narrowed. Like other Tennessee death row prisoners, his case then intersected with broader litigation over execution protocols and COVID-era scheduling pauses. Those issues delayed executions across the state but did not undo his sentence. tba.org+1

On October 1, 2025, the Tennessee Supreme Court issued a sweeping order setting multiple execution dates through 2028. Among them was August 13, 2026, for Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines. Unless another court steps in or clemency is granted, the man once willing to confess if guaranteed the death penalty now has a specific day when the state intends to carry out that sentence. Tennessee Courts+1

Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines

Legal Status | Paper Trail | Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines

• 1988 – Direct appeal
  • State v. Hines, 758 S.W.2d 515 (Tenn. 1988) – Conviction affirmed; death sentence vacated and case remanded for a new sentencing hearing due to flawed jury instructions on aggravating circumstances.
  • Opinion – Justia CaseMine
• 1990s – Resentencing and post-conviction
  • Subsequent state proceedings result in a renewed death sentence. Mitigation and counsel-performance issues are later litigated in post-conviction and remand proceedings.
  • Hines v. State – TCCA opinion PDF Tennessee Courts+1
• 2004 – Post-conviction appeals
  • Hines v. State, No. M2004-01610-CCA-RM-PD (Tenn. Crim. App. July 14, 2004) – Court affirms denial of post-conviction relief after extensive review of mitigation investigation and alternate-suspect theory.
  • Opinion – vLex vLex
• May 14, 2020 – Sixth Circuit habeas grant
  • Hines v. Mays, 814 F. App’x 898 (6th Cir. 2020) – Panel grants habeas relief on ineffective-assistance grounds, faulting counsel’s handling of the alternate-suspect theory involving Ken Jones.
  • Opinion – Justia Justia Law+1
• March 29, 2021 – U.S. Supreme Court per curiam
  • Mays v. Hines, 592 U.S. ___ (2021) – Supreme Court summarily reverses the Sixth Circuit, reinstating Tennessee’s judgment and emphasizing AEDPA deference and the “overwhelming” evidence of guilt.
  • Opinion – Justia Justia Law
• October 1, 2025 – Execution warrant
  • Tennessee Supreme Court order setting multiple execution dates, including August 13, 2026, for Hines.
  • Order setting execution dates – PDF Tennessee Courts+1

📚 Additional Resources

• State v. Hines (Tenn. 1988 – direct appeal) CaseMine
• Hines v. State (Tenn. Crim. App. – post-conviction opinion PDF) Tennessee Courts+1
• Tennessee Department of Correction – Death Row Offenders list (includes Anthony Hines)

📚 Further Reading / Watching

• Mays v. Hines – U.S. Supreme Court opinion & docket (2021) Legal Information Institute
• Sixth Circuit opinion – Hines v. Mays (2020) Justia Law+1
• ABA Journal – “Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction, says 6th Circuit ignored ample evidence” ABA Journal

This site contains affiliate links. We may, at no cost to you, receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Thank you for your support.

JOIN US

Fireside Crime Stories

If the written word keeps you leaning forward into the shadows, then you’ll love settling back by the fire with us. On our YouTube channel, these same haunting stories are told in a softer voice – woven with stormlight, fire crackle, and quiet piano. Perfect for late-night listening, or for those who want to drift into slumber carried by true crime whispers instead of headlines. Step into the firelight, and join us there.

FIRESIDE CRIME STORIES

👉 Related WickedWe Posts

• Tony Von Carruthers | Rose Hill Cemetery Triple Murder
  • A Memphis drug-world kidnapping case where victims were shot and buried alive in a pre-dug cemetery grave; Carruthers is also on Tennessee’s death row with an execution date set in the same multi-case warrant cycle.
• Gary Wayne Sutton | Blue Hole & Clear Fork Double Murder
• A rural double-homicide in Scott County involving the ambush killings of a mother and daughter; Sutton’s case, like Hines’s, has a long post-conviction history and a 2026 Tennessee execution date.

👉 This page is part of the WickedWe True Crime Archive – a resource for researchers, students, and true crime enthusiasts seeking verified facts, case records, and deeper historical context. [Disclaimer→ WickedWe.com is an educational/entertainment column only. No graphic imagery. Victim-respect policy. Nothing herein is legal advice.]

Beyond the Gavel

Roll Card

• Name: Anthony Darrell Dugard Hines
• TDOC / TOMIS ID: 109293
• Jurisdiction: State of Tennessee, Cheatham County
• Institution: Riverbend Maximum Security Institution (RMSI), Nashville
• Capital Case Type: Single-victim motel robbery/sexual assault murder
• Current Legal Posture: State and federal direct and collateral review completed; death sentence reinstated by U.S. Supreme Court; execution date set for August 13, 2026. Legal Information Institute+1

Docket Map | Proceedings (Condensed)

• 1985–1986 | Trial & Sentencing – Cheatham County Circuit Court: conviction and death sentence for the murder of Katherine Jenkins at the CeBon Motel. CaseMine
• 1988 | Direct Appeal – State v. Hines – Conviction affirmed; death sentence vacated and remanded for resentencing due to penalty-phase instruction errors.
  State v. Hines – Tenn. Supreme Court CaseMine
• Late 1980s–1990s | Resentencing – New penalty hearing results in a renewed death sentence. Murderpedia+1
• 2004 | Post-Conviction – Hines v. State – Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals affirms denial of post-conviction relief.
  Hines v. State – TCCA Opinion (PDF) Tennessee Courts+1
• 2015–2020 | Federal Habeas – Hines v. Mays – Sixth Circuit eventually grants habeas relief on ineffective-assistance grounds tied to the alternate-suspect theory.
  Hines v. Mays – 6th Cir. Justia Law+1
• March 29, 2021 | U.S. Supreme Court – Mays v. Hines – Per curiam reversal; state judgment (including death sentence) reinstated.
  Mays v. Hines – U.S. Supreme Court Justia Law
• October 1, 2025 | Execution Date Set – Tennessee Supreme Court issues order scheduling Hines’s execution for August 13, 2026.
  Order Setting Execution Dates – Tenn. Supreme Court (PDF) Tennessee Courts+1

Case File Extras | What the Record Shows

• Crime Scene Details – Room 21
  The victim was found wrapped in a sheet; clothing pulled up; underwear torn and separated; a $20 bill tucked under her watchband; multiple deep stab wounds plus a penetrating wound into the pelvic/abdominal area.
  State v. Hines – factual summary CaseMine
• Flight & Possession of Property
  Jenkins’s Volvo was seen leaving the motel; Hines was later identified in possession of the car, her keys, and her wallet; he wore a bloody shirt and gave conflicting accounts of stabbing or fighting people that day.
  Sixth Circuit summary – Hines v. Mays Justia Law+1
• Statements & Death-Penalty Request
  When questioned by a TBI agent, Hines said that if they could guarantee him the death penalty he would confess and tell them everything they wanted to know — a statement repeatedly cited in state and federal opinions.
  Supreme Court appendix – Hines petition Supreme Court+1
• Alternate-Suspect Theory: Ken Jones
  Post-conviction proceedings revealed that the man who discovered Jenkins’s body was actually at the CeBon Motel for a longstanding extramarital rendezvous, not by happenstance. Tennessee courts acknowledged this but still found the evidence against Hines overwhelming.
  Hines v. State – TCCA (2004) Tennessee Courts

Source Pack

A compact set of primary documents and high-value summaries

• State-Court Record:
  • State v. Hines, 758 S.W.2d 515 (Tenn. 1988) – Direct appeal, facts, and sentencing issues. CaseMine
  • Hines v. State – TCCA opinion PDF (2004) – Post-conviction and mitigation findings. Tennessee Courts+1
• Federal Habeas & Supreme Court:
  • Hines v. Mays – Sixth Circuit (2020) – Ineffective-assistance ruling later reversed. Justia Law+1
  • Mays v. Hines – U.S. Supreme Court (2021) – Per curiam reversal, reinstating death sentence. Justia Law
• Official Status & Execution Date:
  • Tennessee DOC – Death Row Offenders – Current roster, including Hines.
  • Tennessee Supreme Court order setting execution dates (Oct. 1, 2025) – Warrant for August 13, 2026. Tennessee Courts+1

• YouTube
• Facebook