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Nov 27, 2023

Unsolved TN: 7 cold case murders in Murfreesboro, Tennessee

by: Sierra Rains Posted: Aug 4, 2023 / 01:11 PM CDT Updated: Aug 4, 2023 / 06:56 PM CDT MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — A number of factors can cause a case to “go cold,” such as a lack of evidence or

by: Sierra Rains

Posted: Aug 4, 2023 / 01:11 PM CDT

Updated: Aug 4, 2023 / 06:56 PM CDT

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — A number of factors can cause a case to “go cold,” such as a lack of evidence or witnesses to the crime.

In Murfreesboro, there are seven cold cases under investigation, some of which have gone unsolved for nearly 14 years. However, detectives with the Murfreesboro Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit are continuing to seek justice for the families involved.

Almost three years have gone by in every cold case, with Terrell Ray’s mother remembering his life on both the anniversary of his murder and what would’ve been his 34th birthday on Wednesday, Aug. 2.

She has since turned her grief into a way to help others in similar positions and bring attention to other unsolved cases in Murfreesboro through an organization called Mothers Over Murder. According to police, the public’s assistance is a “vital element to these investigations.”

Tips from the public can often help investigators identify, locate and apprehend violent offenders. Below is a list of cold cases currently under investigation in Murfreesboro and any known details on the circumstances of the killings.

Anyone with additional information regarding these unsolved cases is urged to contact the Murfreesboro Police Criminal Investigations Division at 615-893-2717, Crime Stoppers at 615-893-STOP (7867), P3 Global Intel App or email [email protected].

Terrell Ray was shot multiple times in the back on Aug. 2, 2019 while going to visit his girlfriend at the Villager Condos on Middle Tennessee Boulevard in Murfreesboro. He died the day he would’ve turned 30.

Investigators said the suspect, or suspects, stole Ray’s 2006 Camaro, which was found later that same day at an apartment unit on 46th Avenue North in Nashville. Detectives used the vehicle’s OnStar GPS system to track it down.

According to police, Ray had never been in trouble with the law before and was “an innocent victim.” He was reportedly living with his mother in Antioch at the time and was going back to school to study business.

Mario Dominguez-Santiago, 24, was found suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest on Aug. 27, 2020. Police said the shooting was part of an armed robbery at an apartment complex on Willowbrook Drive in Murfreesboro.

Dominguez-Santiago was reportedly shot through the apartment door when the suspect tried to rob him and his roommates. He later died at a local hospital. The suspect is described as a “white or light skin male who speaks fluent Spanish.”

Thomas Holland, 45, was found dead on May 17, 2020 in the driveway of a duplex on East Northfield Boulevard in Murfreesboro. Police said Holland had been shot three times and based on evidence at the scene, may have been in a fight with someone beforehand.

“The neighbors did hear the gun shots, but nothing was seen. Nobody saw anyone running away from the scene,” Murfreesboro Detective Cody Thomas told News 2 in 2021.

A person of interest was developed a day after the homicide, but according to detectives, that person was later ruled out as a suspect.

Cedrick Herbert, 23, was found face down in the bedroom of an apartment on East Northfield Boulevard in Murfreesboro on June 15, 2009. Authorities said Herbert had been shot several times with an automatic pistol and a hoodie was loosely tied around his legs.

Herbert’s girlfriend left to take her son to daycare around 8:30 a.m. and discovered Herbet when she returned home that morning. Herbert’s cousin, 24-year-old Nathan Morgan, was killed nearly one year later, but investigators do not believe the cases are related.

Nathan Morgan, 24, was standing outside with several friends on Eagle Street on May 22, 2010 when a person reportedly came from one street over, jumped a chain link fence and opened fire on the group.

Based on a K-9 tack and other evidence, investigators believe the suspect approached and exited from the 1400 block of Atlas Street. Three people were injured during the shooting, and Morgan later died from his wounds.

Morgan was killed just one month shy of the one-year anniversary of his cousin, 23-year-old Cedrick Herbert’s murder, but investigators do not believe the cases are related. In 2021, Murfreesboro detectives said they were narrowing down on a potential suspect.

Anthony Davis, 33, was sitting inside the living room of an apartment on Norman Avenue with two other people on May 26, 2009 when four men came in and shot him. The suspects are believed to be two Asian men, one Black man and one white man.

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After knocking on the door and entering the apartment, police said the white man chased one of the victims into a back bedroom where she shut the door and hid. Meanwhile, the third victim told investigators the two Asian men stood over Davis and shot him multiple times.

The suspects then fled the apartment. Three of them were reportedly armed with pistols and an AK-47 type rifle.

Fausto Hernandez, 58, was found lying across a rock bleeding on July 15, 2016 near Marco’s Pizza on East Northfield Boulevard in Murfreesboro. Police said Hernandez was suffering from a gunshot wound to his torso.

Fausto later died during surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Before his death, Fausto informed officers that a Black man had shot him, but he was unable to give them any additional description of the suspect.

Investigators said Fausto was described as “nice and kind.” Little other information is available.

Anyone with information regarding these unsolved cases is urged to contact the Murfreesboro Police Criminal Investigations Division at 615-893-2717, Crime Stoppers at 615-893-STOP (7867), P3 Global Intel App or email [email protected].

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