DNA Breakthrough Identifies Toni Gordon as 1985 Charlotte Avenue Victim

Nearly forty years after two women were discovered buried in shallow graves beneath the dirt floor of a Charlotte Avenue home, Metro Nashville police have officially identified the second victim as Toni L. Gordon, fox17.com reported.

Gordon was 31 years old at the time of her death, according to a November 9 release from the Metro Nashville Police Department. Investigators utilized forensic genetic genealogy to put a name to the remains, closing a decades-old mystery for a family that long believed she had simply moved out of state and lost touch.

The grim discovery dates back to 1987, when the remains of Gordon and 23-year-old Sheila Cummings were found inside the Nashville residence. Police investigations subsequently indicated that both killings occurred in 1985. Cummings was identified last year through DNA samples provided by her daughters.

Before her identity was confirmed through modern genetic technology, police circulated a forensic rendering in 2025 seeking information on an individual known at the time only as “Lil’ Bit.” Authorities noted that James Shaffer, who rented the Charlotte Avenue home where the bodies were buried, had referred to Gordon by that nickname. Shaffer confessed to killing both women after law enforcement uncovered the remains.

The confessed killer was subsequently convicted and sentenced to two life sentences for the double homicide. Shaffer died behind bars in 2004.

With Gordon’s identification, investigators have successfully put names to both victims recovered from the property nearly four decades ago. The breakthrough was achieved through a collaborative effort involving DNA Investigative Solutions, Bode Technology, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, the Davidson County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

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