Man serving life sentence for murder in 2021, charged with killing 11-year-old in Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – A man convicted of murder in 2021 is now linked to another Knoxville man.

Knoxville police announced Monday that 61-year-old Randall Lee Rose was indicted by a Knox County grand jury for the murder of a woman who went missing in 2013.

Previous coverage: Knoxville Police: Accused ‘armed and dangerous’ murderer believed to be in East Tennessee

Rose was charged with the murder of 58-year-old Sharon Leinart. She was reported missing in March 2013 and was homeless at the time.

According to KPD, she was last seen at Volunteer Ministries on Broadway two months before she was reported missing.

“A family member is said to have spoken to Leinart at the end of January. At that time, she reported that she was staying at a motel in the Knoxville area,” said KPD Communications Manager Scott Erland. “Leinart was never seen again and her body was never recovered.”

Rose was already serving a life sentence for the murder of a 70-year-old woman in Jackson, Tennessee. At the time, investigators said he had a long and violent criminal history that included rape, burglary and firearms charges.

During the investigation into Leinart’s death, Erland said Rose said he was involved in a murder in Knoxville.

According to Erland, investigators also linked Rose to Leinart’s disappearance.

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