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Background: The Putnam County Sheriff”s Office’s headquarters in Cookeville, Tennessee (Google Maps). Inset: Lora Morgan (Putnam County Sheriff’s Office).
A Tennessee woman is facing serious charges after allegedly shooting and killing another woman, then disposing of the body in a field.
Lora Morgan, aged 57, has been charged with first-degree murder, corpse abuse, and evidence tampering related to the death of Samantha Goolsby, according to a statement from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. Morgan is currently held in the Putnam County Jail, with bail set at $820,000.
The incident unfolded on a Tuesday morning in Cookeville, Tennessee, where Morgan and Goolsby were reportedly involved in a heated argument at a residence. Authorities have not disclosed the reason behind the dispute.
As Goolsby attempted to leave the premises, Morgan allegedly shot her, as detailed in an affidavit obtained by Nashville’s NBC affiliate, WSMV. The affidavit further claims that Morgan left Goolsby’s body at the scene for over a day before relocating it to a nearby field.
On Wednesday around midday, Goolsby was reported missing by a family member after she failed to return home the previous night. Just a few hours later, investigators received another call related to the case.
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.