WHITE PINE-The stabbing death of a White Pine man Tuesdaymorning is being treated as a homicide, according to a spokesperson with theTennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).

Kristin Helm, public information officer for TBI, saidWednesday that Mickey Crocker, 67, was apparently stabbed to death on Tuesday.

Jefferson County Sheriff David Davenport told The NewportPlain Talk on Wednesday that Crocker lived in a mobile home at the corner ofRobin Road and Highway 25E, on the outskirts of White Pine.

Davenport said a motorist spotted Crocker, apparentlycovered in blood, standing beside Highway 25E at about 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

That driver called 911, then turned his vehicle around tooffer assistance to Crocker, who had by then gone into his mobile home,Davenport said.

Once in his trailer, Crocker called his sister and wentto the door to let her in when she showed up, according to Davenport.

She reportedly called paramedics and the police, andCrocker died a short time later.

White Pine and Jefferson County officers found Crocker ona sofa in his residence.

"We're treating it as a homicide," said Helmwith the TBI.

A TBI Violent Crimes Response Team out of the KnoxvilleCrime Laboratory went to the scene to process the home, according to Helm.

Davenport said the TBI, Jefferson County Sheriff'sDepartment, and the White Pine Police Department were investigating the crime.

TBI called Crocker's death a result of stabbing, but Davenportwould not confirm that. The sheriff said, "I'm waiting on an autopsy"by the University of Tennessee Forensic Center in Knoxville before he wouldconfirm the cause of death.

Davenport said he "assumed" Crocker lived byhimself in his mobile home where he died.

With regard to an investigation of Crocker's death,Davenport said, "We're hoping to develop something" and thatdetectives were working on the case.

When asked how many times Crocker had been stabbed,Davenport said, "I'm not even confirming that he was stabbed."