02-04-2025
Here's what we learned from decades-old Tennessee cold cases: It's nothing like CSI
Ever watched an episode of CSI or Law and Order on television?
The intrepid detective picks up a murder case, performs all manner of DNA testing, even when it's a seemingly cold case that's been unsolvable for years, and poof, there's the smoking gun he needed all along. Case closed, killer convicted and roll credits in less than an hour. Real life is anything but.
This is Breaking News and Suburbs Editor Nicole Young, and my team and I have been working for weeks on a series of articles examining some of Middle Tennessee's most elusive cold cases.
As someone who's been interested in true crime, documentaries and armchair sleuthing my whole life, I couldn't wait to get to work on this project. What surprised me, however, was how many of the cases seemed to connect in different ways. I often found myself wondering if we had a serial killer at work and investigators knew it, but never said it publicly. This was especially true when we stumbled upon two cases in Clarksville from the same year. They happened days apart and were nearly identical in detail: Two women were tied up in their homes and stabbed multiple times.
Then there was the actual serial killer I'd never even heard of who's killings were dubbed, "The Red Headed Murders." We actually touch on those cases in our project.
But, as I thought about the things that surprised me as we researched cold cases, I wondered what surprised the reporters on my team, so I decided to ask. Here's what they said in their own words:
Gabrielle Chenault, Williamson County reporter: I thought I knew what a cold case was. In interviewing family members and reporters, I learned so much more than I anticipated. Prior to this project, I believed that when a case is classified as "cold," it means it's unsolvable. While a small percentage of them are, it doesn't mean their respective departments give up on solving them. In the case of Terrance Smith, although his dying declaration did prove to be a roadblock for detectives, the Columbia Police Department is still working to find his killer. Throughout this project, I learned no matter how small the detail or remaining DNA evidence, these departments continue to go above and beyond to bring these families peace.
Kirsten Fiscus, breaking news reporter: What surprised me most was how common it might be for a cold case unit to get answers on cases from the 1980s and 1970s right now, as opposed to newer cases. Police are using a lot of technological advances to pursue those older cases where DNA might not have been tested before. John and Jane Does are getting their names back, all because of these advances in science.
Andy Humbles, Wilson County reporter: What stood out to me more than the mechanics about this story are the family members and friends of victims I spoke with. Whether they are a mother like Trina Anderson, a brother-in-law like Jerry Dickerson or a friend like Laura Nuessle – their passion to get justice, answers and closure to different unsolved cases remains fervent through years and even decades. That is a common thread I'm not sure surprises me, but impresses. I was also left with how unsolved death investigations leave an uncertainty, an uneasiness to the larger community as a whole, which also remains over time.
Katie Nixon, communities reporter: Something that surprised me during the course of reporting for this project was how seemingly rare cold case detectives and units appear in Middle Tennessee. Rural counties and cities likely won't have a detective dedicated to investigating cold cases, much less an entire unit. It's already unsettling to realize that with little information to go on, few leads and a lack of news coverage, a case will likely grow cold as the years pass and less likely to solve. It's even more unsettling to note that these rural areas lacking in the necessary investigative resources needed to solve cold cases will likely farm them out to another, larger agency at the county or state level - taking the investigation further from the crime scene.
Craig Shoup, breaking news reporter: I think one thing I learned is the approach investigators take on these cold cases. The TBI agent views them as puzzles. And it is their task to put pieces together to help solve them. I was surprised to hear about agencies, TBI specifically, use genealogy, like 23 and Me, to help connect DNA to victims and suspects. When someone gives DNA to those organizations, they are asked if they want to allow police to be able to access that DNA.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee cold cases: TV has nothing on reality, more stuff we learned
