Local Attorneys To Represent Daughter of White Pine Murder Victim

Two local attorneys are representing the daughter of a man who was murdered prior to a motel fire in White Pine, Tennessee. P. Richard Talley and Jill Talley have been retained by Kimberly Ann Jarvis, the daughter of Eddie Taylor White. On June 30, 2012, White was found dead in the lobby of the Crown Inn Motel by firefighters. It was discovered that White had been assaulted and is believed that the motel fire was an attempt to cover that assault. Jeffery Gordan Burke has been charged with Second Degree Murder, Aggravated Arson, Vandalism and Abuse of a Corpse. Burke was employed as the Manager of the Crown Inn Motel at the time of the fire and discovery of White’s remains. According to information filed in Circuit Court in Jefferson County, Jarvis, who is also the administrator of White’s estate, filed suit against Burke and Crown Inn owners Nadeem Siddiqu, Naseemul H. Siddiqi, Heetesh Patel, Siddiqi Investments, LLC, Siddiqi Holding, LLC d/b/a Crown Inn. The Complaint states that White, the 72 year old father of four, maintained a room at the Crown Inn. It further alleges that a simple background check would have revealed that Burke had a history of violent criminal acts including fraud, theft, burglary and murder and that the owners of the property owed a duty to its patrons to protect their persons and property from harm from their General Manager. The Complaint states that the owners were negligent in hiring, retaining, screening and supervising Burke and that negligence resulted in serious bodily injury and death to White. One million dollars for compensatory damages and one million dollars for punitive damages are being sought against the defendants. Talley and Talley, on behalf of Jarvis, have requested a jury trial.