Shelbyville, TN – Twenty minutes south of Murfreesboro, a Shelbyville man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. The case officially closed last Monday in the Bedford County Courts, marking the end of a lengthy judicial process. 49-Year-old James Michael Beddingfield was sentenced to life behind bars for the killing of 42-year-old Julie Ann Smotherman in 2023. Court records also confirm he was found guilty of Abuse of a Corpse.

The Investigation - The case began in May 2023, when investigators looked into suspicious circumstances surrounding Smotherman’s death. The Shelbyville Police Department, working alongside the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, pursued leads that quickly pointed to Beddingfield, who was 46 at the time.

He was located in Moore County, arrested, and transported to the Bedford County Jail. On May 22, 2023, he was formally charged with Criminal Homicide. Because of his prior arrest record, Beddingfield remained incarcerated until he was indicted by a Bedford County Grand Jury the following year. According to the Tennessee Department of Correction, in 2007, he was convicted for theft of property, along with aggravated burglary in Bedford County. In 2023, shortly after his arrest in relation to the murder, he was charged with bringing contraband into the jail with him.

The Trial and Sentencing - The case went to trial earlier this year in the Bedford County Circuit Courtroom of Judge Forest Alexander Durard Jr. In court, Beddingfield was convicted of First Degree Murder and Abuse of a Corpse. This past Monday on August 18, 2025, he was sentenced to life in prison.

The Victim - Julie Ann Smotherman spent her entire life in Shelbyville. Friends and family described her as a kind and generous soul, someone who brought joy to others even in their most difficult moments. After graduating from Shelbyville Central High School, she pursued a career in dialysis, where her compassion helped patients through painful and challenging treatments.

She was also known as someone who had a knack for turning discarded items into something useful or beautiful, reflecting her free spirit and creativity. She was also remembered as a skilled cook and someone who cherished summer days at the lake.

Smotherman left behind three children, a granddaughter, a nephew, two nieces, and her parents, John Smotherman and Margie Warren Dodson.