Murfreesboro Tennessee Reports

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Nancy Whitworth Smotherman - Murfreesboro Post

Nancy Whitworth Smotherman, age 74, died Thursday, August 13, 2015. Mrs. Smotherman was a native of Rutherford County and was the daughter of the late Ernest and Mary Pope Whitworth.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Woodfin Memorial Chapel. Brother David Young will officiate. Burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery.

Mrs. Smotherman is survived by her husband, William C. "Bill" Smotherman; son, Scott Smotherman and his wife Amanda of Savannah, TN; two daughters, Julie Clinebell and her husband John of Atlanta, GA and Janet Hannah and her husband Gary of Mt. Juliet, TN; brother, Thurman Whitworth and his wife Sandra of LaVergne, TN; sister, Gayle Bradley of Brentwood, TN. Grandchildren include Scott and Amanda's children: Chelsea and her husband Bo, Sarah and her husband Paden, Stuart, Joseph and his wife Kristen, Caleb, Douglas, Jacob, John, Carlton and his wife Jasmine, Zachery, Mercedez, Samuel, Rosie, Tasha, Michael, Isabella, Lita, Daniel, Ryan, Victoria, Seth; Julie and John's children: Tyler, Hannah, Carter, and Braden; and Janet and Gary's children: Katie and her husband Ty, Jeremy and his wife Hannah, Bailey, and Ben; and five great-grandchildren, Lilly Kate, Presley, Halle Anne, Murphy, and Bryan.

Mrs. Smotherman was a member of North Boulevard Church of Christ where she was active in college student mentoring, visiting shut-ins, meals on wheels, and Ladies' Bible Study. She was a 1955 Graduate of Murfreesboro's Central High School and attended MTSU where she retired from the Center for Historic Preservation. Mrs. Smotherman's family was a joy to her as she was a joy to her family and friends; she treasured every moment she had with them. She found wisdom and hope and love in daily Bible study and prayer and passed it on to many through phone calls and a personal card ministry.

Visitation will be 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Saturday at Woodfin Memorial Chapel.

Memorials may be made to North Boulevard Church of Christ, "A New Day" Ministry, 1112 N Rutherford Blvd, Murfreesboro, TN 37130 (615) 893-1520 or Savannah Church of Christ, c/o Lisa Thomas, PO Box 1118, Savannah, TN 38372 to support Scott and Amanda's life ministry of fostering and mentoring children.

An online guestbook is available for the family at http://ift.tt/1oveUry. Woodfin Memorial Chapel (615)893-5151

Mary Etta Austin Skeen - Murfreesboro Post

Mary Etta Austin Skeen, passed away at St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital on Friday, August 14, 2015; she was 65 years old.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Harry and Francis Austin and brother, Harry Austin.

She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Allen Skeen; daughter, Jenny Skeen, and son Kelly Skeen; Grandchildren, Abby, Matthew and Christian Skeen; sisters Beckey (Danny) Taylor, and Elizabeth (Roy) Baines; Brothers Joe Austin and Andy (Helen) Austin.

Visitation and a Celebration of Life will be Sunday, August 16, 2015 from 2 to 4 p.m. with visitation immediately following the Celebration of life.

Funeral service will be held on Monday at 1 p.m.; all at Belle Aire Baptist Church, 1307 North Rutherford Blvd, Murfreesboro, TN 37130. Interment will follow in the Wilson Memorial Gardens in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Active Pallbearers: Ray Barnes, Jim Emery, Allen Griggs, Danny Taylor, Jim Mobley, Jim Johnson, Velton Jordan and Sam Cardwell.

Honorary pallbearers: Members of The Prayer Warriors Sunday School Class of Belle Aire Baptist Church and members of Mary's Etta's Vanderbilt Bible Study Class.

In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to Care Ministries, 1328 Veterans Parkway, Murfreesboro, TN 37128.

Mary Etta was a beautiful person inside and out - gracious and first class in every way. She knew how to treat people and conduct business in a very attractive fashion. From her beautiful, contagious smile and laughter, to her Christ-like spirit, Mary Etta touched many lives. Always striving to be a help and a positive influence for God to everyone she encountered.

Much of Mary Etta's career was spent at Vanderbilt University and Medical Center in service of the institution's leaders. Beginning in the late 1970's and throughout several decades, Mary Etta faithfully served as a valued assistant to several of Vanderbilt's top officials and other Nashville business leaders until her retirement in 2013.

Arrangements are under the direction of Jennings and Ayers Funeral Home, 820 South Church St., Murfreesboro, TN 37130. 615-893-2422. Please leave online condolences at http://ift.tt/1lpvyJ1.

Murder charges for man accused of killing woman in Murfreesboro - WSMV Nashville

Brandon Richmond Bowling (Photo: Murfreesboro Police Dept.)

Heather Maples (Source: Facebook)

MURFREESBORO, TN (WSMV) -

Murfreesboro police have charged Brandon Richmond Bowling, 22, with first degree murder in connection to the death of Heather Maples.

Bowling, who is listed as a resident of Bradyville Pike in Murfreesboro, was booked into the Rutherford County jail just before 3 a.m. Saturday.

The arrest comes a week after Maples' body was found in her apartment on Brown Drive.

Police have not said how the 22-year-old woman died.

According to police, Maples visited at least two bars the night that she was killed.

The Mesquite, Texas native was not a student at Middle Tennessee State University.

Police investigating threats at 3 Midstate elementary schools - WSMV Nashville

MILLERSVILLE, TN (WSMV) -

Students were evacuated Friday morning after threats were reported at schools in Lewis, Maury, Robertson, Rutherford and Sumner counties.

The FBI and TBI responded to Millersville Elementary School, which was evacuated after a threat came in around 9:45 a.m.

Millersville Police Chief David Hindman said a synthesized voice said on a message that a person with a bomb attached to their body was inside the school building.

“That is a red flag, but right now we want to take it as a credible threat for the safety of our children,” Hindman said.

A bomb-sniffing dog did not find anything inside Millersville Elementary, but Hindman said police were not taking any chances.

“Our officers, Sumner County deputies, emergency management, TBI,” he said. “We have also called the FBI to come in and assist.

A bank right next to the school was also evacuated.

Students were taken to Millersville City Hall, next door to the school, for parents to pick up.

"I was terrified," said Gennie Thurman, a mother who picked up her son in Millersville. "The first thing I thought of was Sandy Hook and Columbine. I was worried was my child going to get out of this school alive."

Teachers were later allowed back inside, but students will not return until Monday.

The Murfreesboro Police Department said nothing suspicious was found at Black Fox Elementary School after a threat was phoned in Friday morning about a bomb. According to police, the threat was "likely part of a larger hoax."

The school was evacuated, and the students were taken to Hobgood Elementary School as a precaution as the bomb squad swept the school. Students were later returned to class.

Lewis County High School received a threat and was evacuated, but the sheriff's office did not say what type of threat it is. The intermediate and middle schools did not receive a direct threat but were also evacuated as a precaution. Students have been moved to the football field.

J.E. Woodard Elementary in Maury County was also evacuated on Friday, but students later returned to class.

Greenbrier Middle School in Robertson County received a threat shortly before 11 a.m. Students there were taken to nearby Greenbrier High School.

School administrators said there were also two threats called in to two elementary schools in Alabama. There is no word if those threats are connected.

2 Indian-Origin Women Accused of Shoplifting from Walmart @Murfreesboro, TN - The Indian Panorama

Two Indian-origin women have been accused of stealing 155 razors worth USD 4,500 from a Walmart store in the US.

The theft was reported from a Walmart store on the Joe B Jackson Parkway in Murfreesboro city of Tennessee State.

The security footage showed two women, carrying a six- or seven-year-old child, stealing over USD 4,500 worth of 155 razors from the personal grooming section inside the store.

After stealing the shaving razors, the females left through the entrance on the opposite side of Walmart with a child in tow. They fled the area in a minivan, a media report said.

They are yet to be identified and arrested, the report said.

So far, they have not been caught and this is one of several razor blade shoplifting cases reported in recent months.