A high-profile murder trial in Henderson County has come to a close. Officials announced on Aug. 31, 2021 that Phillip Michael Stroupe, II, had pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the 2017 murder of Mills River resident Thomas “Tommy” Bryson. District Attorney Andrew Murray said Stroupe is sentenced to life without parole on the first-degree murder charge and 25-33 years to run consecutively on the robbery and kidnapping charges. The plea limits the right to appeal.
