Authorities identified Toni L. Gordon as one of the two victims in a murder case nearly 40 years ago in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
A woman found murdered in the basement of a home in 1987 in Nashville, Tennessee was identified by forensic genetic genealogy.
Toni L. Gordon, who was 31 years old when she was killed, was the second of two women identified by authorities.
Shelia Cummings, 23, was the other woman identified in 2025, according to a release from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
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James Shaffer confessed to the murders of Gordon and Cummings after police discovered the victims in 1987 in shallow graves within the dirt floor basement of a residence he rented.
Authorities said it’s believed that the murders occurred two years earlier. Relatives believed that Gordon moved out of state and lost contact with them. Nashville police said the family was notified.
Shaffer received two life sentences for the murders, and he died in prison in 2004.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by a Metropolitan Nashville Police Department release. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.