Background: The Putnam County Sheriff”s Office’s headquarters in Cookeville, Tennessee (Google Maps). Inset: Lora Morgan (Putnam County Sheriff’s Office).
A suspect in Tennessee is accused of shooting and killing a woman before dumping her body in a field.
Lora Morgan, 57, is charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and fabricating or tampering with evidence in connection with the death of Samantha Goolsby, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office announced. She is being held in the Putnam County Jail under an $820,000 bond.
On Tuesday morning, Goolsby — whose age is unclear — was at a home in Cookeville, Tennessee, with Morgan. The two women were arguing, though authorities have not said about what.
As Goolsby was walking out the door to leave, Morgan shot her, according to an affidavit obtained by Nashville NBC affiliate WSMV. The suspect then allegedly left the woman’s body there for more than 24 hours before moving the remains to a field.
Around noon on Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said a family member of Goolsby reported that she was missing after failing to come home the night before. Roughly four hours later, investigators were contacted again.
A homeowner on Phy Road — just north of Cookeville — called deputies and told them that “they had found a partially concealed body in the wood line on their property.” Investigators responded and determined the body to be that of Goolsby.
Deputies learned that a “domestic dispute had taken place” the previous day.
Law&Crime reached out to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in an attempt to learn the relationship between Morgan and Goolsby but was told that no more information could be released during an active investigation.
Deputies arrested Morgan, who they say “confessed to shooting and killing” the victim. The suspect also reportedly said she used wipes to clean up the crime scene on Wednesday.
Morgan was taken into the custody of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office at about 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. She is scheduled to appear in court on April 20.
Cookeville is located in central Tennessee, about 80 miles east of Nashville.
