MEMPHIS, TN- (WMC-TV) - Shelby County School administrators have trimmed the budget gap by tens of millions of dollars. Back in February, suburban lawmakers were up in arms after learning the merged school system had an anticipated budget gap of $150 million.

The public will know Tuesday night what it will cost to merge Memphis and Shelby County Schools after the budget is presented to the school board.

Over the weekend, Interim Superintendent Dorsey Hopson sent a memo to school board members. He announced the administration was able to shave that budget gap by nearly 25 percent.

Hopson will present this budget to the board Tuesday with a $35.8 million budget gap.

The budget is yet another reminder that Shelby County taxpayers can expect a tax hike. Shelby County taxpayers are responsible for funding nearly half of the budget. The budget summary points out the 2013-2014 property tax rate may increase due to the merger.

MEMPHIS, TN- (WMC-TV) - Friends of Heather Palumbo-Jones said it was a weight battle in more ways than one for a Germantown couple whose marriage ended in murder.

According to friends, Chris Jones was obsessed. He was addicted and dependent on his estranged wife, and could not let go.

"She told me he told her to gain the weight back. I said, 'You've got to be kidding me.' He was a control freak," said friend Cari Cooper.

Friends described Palumbo-Jones' husband as a man spiraling out of control as the marriage collapsed.

They said Palumbo-Jones, a teacher at Frayser Achievement School, met Chris Jones when she was 19 years old. She was 160 pounds overweight.

Friends said after working out and losing the weight, Chris felt threatened.

"He was losing his grip on her. She was like a butterfly who came out of a cocoon," said Copper.

MEMPHIS, TN- (WMC-TV) - New details are being revealed in connection to the murder of a beloved teacher and mother, Heather Palumbo Jones. Her estranged husband, Chris Jones, is charged.

Three different search warrants were issued, two for Chris' townhouse and one for his car.

Fourteen pages of police documents are shedding light onto the investigation into the Germantown woman's disappearance and death.

Chris Jones did two interviews with Germantown police investigators.

For the second, instead of parking in one of the many spots at the municipal building, he left his car in a parking garage a half mile away and walked the five minutes to the police station.

The cadaver dogs that searched Heather's house hit on the scent of human decomposition in the kitchen, bathroom, and outdoor shed. They picked up the same scent in Chris' car, when they found it in the parking garage.