He admitted to the gruesome and torturous murders of two acquaintances, while blaming his actions on a drug-induced psychosis (mental disorder).  Even his sister voiced her opposition to his potential parole release during a prison status hearing.

In DeKalb County, Tennessee, this young man, James Christopher Tatrow, was charged with aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder of the two young men – Roger Zammit of Warren County and John Henry of DeKalb County.   Today, Tatrow continues serving two life sentences for the horrendous murders.  Tatrow’s age at the time of the murders was around 24-years-old.

Illegal drugs were thought to have played a part in the case, though a clear motive for the killings has not been established at this point.  In January 1995, the defendant is alleged to have taken Zammit and Harry at gunpoint and knife point from Harry’s residence on Dry Creek in DeKalb County, Tennessee.   The arrest warrants charge that the men were taken to a trailer in the Belk community in DeKalb County where they were held, unparticipatory, for two days.  During this bi-lateral time, they were “severely beaten, repeatedly tortured, and finally killed.”  Their bodies were wrapped in fence wire, weighed with concrete blocks, and dropped from the towering Hurricane Bridge into 140 feet of water in Center Hill Lake, wrote WJLE.   Today, the height of Hurricane Bridge is 296 feet at its tallest point.

When finally recovered, the autopsies of the dead bodies revealed that one victim died of a gunshot wound to the head, while the other victim died of strangulation.  It is not revealed if the strangulation was by human hand or by leather or metal cording.

Local interest in this case was very strong, and according to local county historian, the late Thomas G. Webb, “There was more interest (in the case) shown before the court than I had seen in almost 50 years.”

As a further pronouncement and according to WJLE radio in Smithville, Tennessee, “A 54-year-old local man, serving a life sentence for first degree murder in the kidnapping and brutal killing of two men in 1995, was up for and declined parole in April, 2022.

Tatrow is, and has been, housed in the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee.  The young man, at the time of the murders, was charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping.  As listed in the “State of Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals,” he also was charged with two counts of premeditated and deliberate murder of the two victims.

“The story centers around Tatrow, who was a former rodeo cowboy, a former college student and a former family man until he began using drugs after having a serious back injury.  In January 1995, Tatrow’s trailer house in the Belk community in DeKalb County became a hangout where friends and acquaintances came and visited and left.” 

In further reiterative detail, “The beginning of the nightmare was when Tatrow returned home from a brief trip to Texas and found his house had been robbed.”  A list of varied items was stolen and the two men were named as the robbers, insurmountably by Tatrow, “Along with several accomplices (unnamed), Tatrow later kidnapped the two men and took them to his house where they (physically and mentally) were tortured for several days before they were murdered,” said WJLE.

According to court documents submitted by the local radio station’s website, “Zammit, gored and bloody, along with Harry, was made to kneel in a bathtub.  A plastic bag was placed around Zammit’s head and a cord was placed around his neck.  Tatrow then had his knee in Zammit’s back and yanked the cord.  He then used a flashlight and commenced bloodily (sic) beating him until he was dead.”  After watching Zammit’s unmerciful death, Harry was led outside, shot in the head and died instantly.  Tatrow and his accomplices (unnamed) wrapped the two bodies in carpet pieces, drove to Hurricane Bridge, and dropped their bodies into the underlying water.  Later, an investigation led to the arrest of Tatrow and the two bodies floated to the top of Center Hill Lake and were discovered by law enforcement. 

The murder trial received a diversion, therefore being transferred and held in Cumberland County (Crossville).  The judicial locale was changed from DeKalb County, Tennessee because of the monogamous amount of pre-trial publicity.  The end-result would have been an unfair and prejudiced murder trial.

The aforementioned events occurred in 1996 – thus, as of today, Tatrow has been incarcerated for almost 28-years.  Eligible for parole, he has been declined twice while serving two consecutive life sentences because of the “seriousness of the crime.”  During one prison hearing, his biological sister recommended that Tatrow not be paroled.

He will die in jail.  He also was eligible for the death penalty but escaped this charge and received the two life-sentences.