CARTER COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Joshua and Jacob Hitchcock, the siblings convicted of their father’s murder in Carter County, received life sentences on Wednesday.

The jury found both brothers guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in May. Additionally, Jacob Hitchcock was convicted of tampering with evidence.

Both Joshua and Jacob received life sentences for the murder charges and were sentenced to 15 years for the conspiracy charges.

Jacob received an additional three years for the tampering with evidence charge.

Their sentences will run concurrently, and both men are eligible for parole.

A motion for a retrial has been submitted, which Jacob’s lawyer had stated to News Channel 11 would be pursued once the guilty verdicts were reached. A status hearing for this motion is scheduled for Dec. 19, 2025.

William “Bill” Hitchcock, the father of Joshua and Jacob, was discovered deceased on his Elizabethton property by fishermen near the Watauga River. An autopsy revealed he had been shot three times.

Prosecutors argued during the trial that Joshua and Jacob plotted to murder their father after discovering his intention to sell property that they stood to inherit.

Joshua testified in the trial and admitted to shooting his father; however, he said he shot him in self-defense.