Massachusetts man accused of killing hiker with machete on Appalachian Trail
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A Massachusetts man is accused of assaulting two hikers with a machete, killing one of them, over the weekend on the Appalachian Trial in Virginia, federal prosecutors said.
James L. Jordan, 30, was arrested early Saturday and charged with one count of murder and one count of assault with the intent to murder, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office, Western District of Virginia.
The investigation is ongoing, but the District Attorney’s Office expected to file charges against Jordan in U.S. District Court on Monday. Jordan was expected to appear in federal court in Abingdon, Virginia.
One of the hikers, a man, died, while a woman who had been hiking with him walked six miles bleeding until she found help. She is expected to survive, according to USA Today and the Roanoke, Virginia, television station WSLS.
Emergency responders were able to find one of the hikers via GPS after he used his cellphone to make an emergency call, according to WSLS.
Last month, Jordan was arrested for allegedly threatening Appalachian Trail hikers at the trail head at Devils Fork and in Tennessee’s Madison County with an ax, according to USA Today and the Tennessee television station WLOS. His trail name was reportedly “Sovereign,” according to media outlets there. Jordan was put on probation after pleading guilty for criminal impersonation, drug possession and public intoxication, according to the newspaper and television station.