NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Nashville police have identified the second of two women found murdered in the basement of a Charlotte Avenue home nearly 40 years ago. Forensic genetic genealogy identified her as Toni L. Gordon of Nashville, who was 31 when she was killed, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said Monday.
Gordon and 23-year-old Sheila Cummings, who investigators identified in 2025, died at the hands of James Shaffer. He confessed to the killings after authorities found the women in 1987, buried in shallow graves in the dirt floor basement of a home he had rented.
Police believe the homicides happened two years earlier. Shaffer had referred to Gordon as Lil’ Bit.
Family had lost contact
Gordon’s relatives believed she had moved out of state and lost contact with them, according to MNPD. Police have notified the family of the identification.
Shaffer died in prison
Shaffer received two life sentences for the murders. He died in prison in 2004.
The department credited DNA Investigative Solutions, Bode Technology, the National Missing & Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), the Medical Examiner’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for working with police to identify the victims.
More coverage is available on the Nashville topic page.
