Agent says Morris Long confessed twice to beating wife to death with hammer

Morris “Moe” Long Jr. confessed twice to beating his wife to death with a hammer in statements given to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing in Dickson Municipal Court Friday. Special Judge Joey Hornick ordered Long bound over to the Dickson County grand jury on a charge of first-degree murder for the death of 21-year-old Ashlee Brook “Sissy” Long. Public Defender Jake Lockert said he will petition to have Long moved from the Dickson County Jail to a special medical needs facility as Long, who attended Friday’s hearing in a wheelchair, continues to recover from injuries suffered when he was hit by a truck on Interstate 40 in what police described as a suicide attempt. TBI Agent Haidy Grigsby testified Friday she interviewed Long on Dec. 24 and 29 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and both times he admitted repeatedly striking his wife in the head with a hammer in a bedroom of their home at 106 Bishop Lane. In his first statement, Long said he had been smoking marijuana and his wife had been “nagging” him when an argument began and she came at him with a hammer. He said he took the hammer away and hit her in the head and when she came at him again he said he kept hitting her over and over until she stopped, then covered her up in the bed and left the home. In his second interview, Long said he had done 2-3 grams of cocaine when Ashlee Long became mad and began swinging a pair of scissors at him. Long said he had the hammer because he had been hanging pictures and when she tried to grab it he hit her repeatedly in the head. Long’s body was discovered Dec. 22 by her mother and stepfather, who live in the other half of the duplex, which has a Burns address but is located in Dickson. Lockert questioned Grigsby about Long’s medical state during the interviews and whether he was sedated, under the influence of pain killers or in a post-concussive state. Lockert also questioned Agent Shawn Adkins about evidence of drug usage in the Long home, but the agent said he did not see any. Long was charged with his wife’s murder after being released from the hospital Jan. 9. Hornick, who is the municipal judge for New Johnsonville and was appointed for the hearing because Dickson Municipal Judge Reese Holley had a conflict, ordered Long held without bond following the 30-minute hearing Friday.