Dad Behind Bars for Arson-Murder Conspiracy
McNAIRY COUNTY, Tenn. – A father was arrested on Monday accused of trying to brainwash his son into murdering his mother. Deputies said Guy Potter, Jr. is behind bars for aggravated arson and attempted murder of his ex-wife. Investigators said Potter tried to convince his pre-teen son to commit the crime. Bryan and Brandi Petty’s home in South Ramer has undergone a total rebuilding process since a fire was set in six different places in January. The homeowners say the real rebuilding process is just getting started. “If a person is going to put their child up to what he assisted Trey in doing, you don’t know what they’re going to do. You can’t sleep. You’re constantly wondering what’s going on around you. Nobody should have to live like that,” Brandi Petty said, the juvenile’s mother. Sheriff Guy Buck said tampering with fire detectors was one example of ways to burn down the home. Brandi Petty escaped the fire that night from her back bedroom window, and found her son standing outside on the other side. An unknown cell phone was found in the son’s room and later discovered to be the communication line with his father. Now, with Potter behind bars, Petty said she hopes she can rebuild a relationship with her son. “We have a lot of work to do. I do believe at some point he can get past it and I hope and pray that he can,” Petty said. Her son is undergoing counseling and therapy, and the Pettys will be able to move into their home in the next few weeks. Potter will be arraigned in court this week, and appear before a judge in May.
