KNOXVILLE, TN (WOKI / WVLT) – A Knoxville man has been indicted on murder and drug charges following a lengthy investigation into the overdose death of a young woman at a West Knoxville hotel.
According to the Knoxville Police Department, 32-year-old Allen Roach Jr. has been charged with second-degree murder and the sale and delivery of cocaine following a Drug Related Death Task Force investigation into the 2025 death of a 23-year-old woman from Madisonville.
The investigation began in February 2025 when KPD officers and detectives responded to the Tru Hotel on Lovell Road to investigate the woman’s suspicious death.
Authorities later determined that the woman died from cocaine toxicity.
Investigators with the Drug Related Death Task Force subsequently identified Roach as the alleged source of the cocaine involved in the case.
In April 2025, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Roach’s residence on Cedarwood Avenue. During the search, officers reportedly discovered cocaine, psychedelic mushrooms, a handgun, scales, and packaging materials commonly associated with drug distribution.
Roach was arrested at that time and charged with multiple drug offenses, possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and maintaining a dwelling used for drug activity.
Following additional investigation, the case was presented to a Knox County Grand Jury in August 2026. The grand jury returned indictments charging Roach with second-degree murder and sale and delivery of cocaine.
Roach was booked into the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility on September 21, 2026, on the new charges. Court records indicate he has since been released after posting a $150,000 bond.
The case remains pending in the Knox County court system.
As with all criminal cases, the charges are allegations, and Roach is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
