Man charged with murder in 2012 Humboldt homicide

GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — Officers arrested a man Monday on a murder charge in a 2012 cold case in Humboldt.

Benjamin Byrer

Benjamin Byrer, 34, of Humboldt is charged with second-degree murder in the 2012 death of 49-year-old James Patrick Calene, according to a release from the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded March 31, 2012, to a call about an unresponsive man in a house located in the 100 block of Jim Jackson Road in Humboldt, according to the release.

The victim was identified as Calene, and the medical examiner ruled the cause of death as strangulation.

Investigators developed some leads at the time and interviewed multiple people, but the case went cold, the release states.

During recent moths, investigators with the sheriff’s office and the West Tennessee Violent Crime and Drug Task Force developed new information that led to Byrer’s arrest.

Byrer is being held at the Gibson County Correctional Complex. A bond amount and court date have not been set at this time.