Hunt on for fired gym worker who allegedly killed former boss with hatchet: Police

Cops are tracking down a man who allegedly killed his ex-boss with a hatchet.

June 5, 2018, 2:02 AM

A manhunt is underway to track down a fired gym employee who allegedly killed a co-worker with a hatchet, Metro Nashville Police Department officials said.

Authorities said that Domenic Micheli, 36, showed up at his former Balance Training gym workplace Monday morning with a hatchet and allegedly stabbed his former supervisor -- who has been identified by Nashville police officials as 46-year-old Joel Paavola.

Nashville police issued a tweet reporting that Paavola apparently fired Micheli in early 2017.

Metro Nashville police released this photo of a Nashville, Tenn., fitness center on June 4, 2018, saying that murder victim Joel Paavola ran this location.
MNPDNashville/Twitter
Metro Nashville police released this image of Domenic Micheli on June 4, 2018, saying he was being sought in relation to a fatal attack at a fitness center in Nashville, Tenn.
MNPDNashville/Twitter

In a subsequent tweet that included a recent photo of Micheli with a full-grown beard, police said he is believed to be driving a gold-colored, "older-model Toyota Yaris."

"This picture more closely resembles what Domenic Micheli looks like now," police tweeted.

The wanted man had a brush with the law less than two months ago when he tried to gain access to the White House grounds.

According to the United States Secret Service, Micheli was arrested on the evening of April 27 for Unlawful Entry and Failure to Obey when he tried to breach a vehicle checkpoint.

Micheli allegedly ignored officers' command and was brought into custody.

It's unclear how the case was adjudicated.

Metro Nashville police released this image of an older model Toyota Yaris that they say was driven by Domenic Micheli on June 4, 2018.
MNPDNashville/Twitter

Micelli's alleged breach comes on the heels of another man who tried to trespass on White House property only to allegedly commit a killing soon after.

Travis Reinking was caught by Secret Service agents on July 7, 2017, trying to hop a barrier at the White House.

Less than a year later, around dawn on April 22, the 29-year-old man approached a Waffle House near Nashville, Tennessee, half-naked and armed with a rifle.

Reinking allegedly shot four people to death and wounded four others before customer James Shaw Jr. wrestled his rifle away and threw it over the counter.

Authorities tracked Reinking down 34 hours later hiding in the woods.

ABC News' Jack Date contributed to this report.