UPDATE: Thursday Night's "Murder-Suicide"

Murfreesboro, TN - Here's an update on the tragic murder-suicide that occured on Nighshade Drive around 8:00 o'clock Thursday night (6/27/2024). Detectives from the Murfreesboro Police Criminal Investigations Division (CID) identified the couple as 37-year-old Margarette Barksdale and 29-year-old James Shannon.

As reported earlier, police found the couple in an upstairs bedroom of a townhouse near Scales Elementary School.

The preliminary CID report indicates that after the male shot and killed his girlfriend, that he turned the gun on himself.

Neighbors heard the gunshots and called 911. Personnel from Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department and Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services performed CPR and other medical care. Barksdale and Shannon were both pronounced deceased.

The preliminary investigations indicated Shannon shot his girlfriend and then himself after a domestic altercation.

The case remains under investigation.

If you are in a domestic violence relationship or know someone who is, help is available. You can also contact the Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center in Murfreesboro at 615-896-2012. Or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 at any time.