Nashville man pleads guilty in 2018 hatchet killing at Belle Meade gym
Domenic Micheli pleaded guilty Monday as part of a deal with prosecutors.
His sentence will be set by Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn. It could range between 15-25 years in prison.
Micheli, 41, was initially charged with first-degree murder in the June 4, 2018, killing of Joel Paavola. Micheli was arrested in Kentucky late the next day after a wide-ranging manhunt that put several Nashville locations on lockdown. He has remained in custody.
Paavola owned the Balance Training on Harding Pike, a gym where Micheli was previously employed. He was fired approximately 14 months before the killing.
A man entered the gym around 7 a.m. that Monday armed with a hatchet and at least one other weapon and attacked Paavola while he was assisting customers, Nashville police said at the time. The suspect was quickly identified as Micheli.
Investigators tracked Micheli around an hour later to a Gallatin urgent care facility where witnesses said he asked the staff for a suture kit but was not willing to wait or provide any personal information. He left without receiving treatment or medical supplies, police said.
"Just a senseless, brutal, violent attack," Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said in 2018.
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Authorities searched for Micheli beyond Middle Tennessee after the slaying, because he was known to have spent time in Oregon and Washington, D.C.
In April 2018, a few months before the hatchet attack, Micheli was arrested outside of the White House by the U.S. Secret Service after driving his car to a checkpoint and refusing to move it. He was charged with misdemeanor trespassing.
In a court case related to that charge, Micheli was found mentally competent enough to stand trial after a psychological examination. A defendant must be capable of understanding the proceedings and be able to take an active part in their defense to be prosecuted.
That case is still ongoing. The latest filing in the federal case is from March 2020, indicating the case would remain pending while the homicide case continues.
In a March 2019 filing, the government noted attorneys questioned why a trial date in the Nashville case had not yet been set, but the Nashville prosecutor "indicated that there was no abnormal reason and that the case was proceeding at a pace that is typical for a homicide prosecution in that jurisdiction."
Another high-profile Nashville killing from 2018, the mass shooting at a Waffle House in Antioch, also went to trial this year.
The next hearing in Micheli's case is set for Nov. 18, when he is expected to appear for a full sentencing hearing. He entered an open plea, according to the Davidson County District Attorney's Office, meaning he did not plead to a specific sentence.
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Reach reporter Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms. Reach reporter Rachel Wegner at RAwegner@tennessean.com or find her on Twitter @rachelannwegner.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville man pleads guilty in 2018 hatchet killing of boss at gym
