Police charged a man they consider homeless Wednesday night with the murder of a young nurse at her Wedgewood Park apartment in Nashville in a case that has prompted concerns about transients in the area.
Christopher Drew McLawhorn, 24, was charged with criminal homicide and especially aggravated burglary for the Feb. 28 murder of Tiffany Ferguson, 23, an ICU nurse at St. Thomas West, according to a news release issued by the Metro Nashville Police Department.
A person of interest in the case, McLawhorn was found by police at 3rd Avenue North and Broadway early Sunday morning. He had two bottles of alcohol and was carrying a small amount of marijuana and was arrested for misdemeanor drug possession. He denied any knowledge of Ferguson’s death. He remained in jail and police later collected evidence and witness statements that allegedly connect him to Ferguson’s murder.
Police say McLawhorn stabbed Ferguson multiple times while burglarizing her apartment. He had prior arrests in Nashville for public intoxication, misdemeanor theft and failure to be booked on the misdemeanor theft charge. Police consider him homeless but say he stayed with a friend from time to time on 14th Avenue North.
On Tuesday, Wedgewood area residents voiced safety concerns at a public meeting at the Midtown Precinct, according to WZTV Fox News 17. The news story quoted District 17 Metro Council member Colby Sledge as saying, “This area is a very high traffic area. It’s an area where there are a lot of folks who have been transient in nature or homeless.”
Ferguson’s death came not long after the mysterious death of a young female scrub tech at St. Thomas West, the same hospital where Ferguson worked, according to another WZTV Fox News 17 story. In late December, the body of Ashley Brown, 27, was found at a trash disposal site on Freightliner Drive. Her death has not at this point been ruled a homicide.
On the day of Ferguson’s murder, police and fire departments responded to a 911 call at 5:41 a.m. by Ferguson’s roommate, who awakened to her screams. The roommate saw that the front door was open and found Ferguson in her separate bedroom suffering from stab wounds.
[…] this month, a man police considered to be homeless was arrested in the stabbing death of a young nurse in her Wedgewood Park […]
[…] arrested and charged in the stabbing death of a young nurse in her Wedgewood Park apartment. The attack draw attention to concerns about transients in the […]