Woman found buried in basement nearly 40 years ago finally identified

Authorities identified Toni L. Gordon as one of the two victims in a murder case nearly 40 years ago in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)

The Details

The Brief

Toni L. Gordon was identified by police as a second woman found buried in a Tennessee home in a 1987 cold case.

In 2025, authorities identified Sheila Cummings as the other victim in the crime.

James Shaffer, who confessed to the killing of the victims, died in prison over 20 years ago.

A woman found murdered in the basement of a home in 1987 in Nashville, Tennessee was identified by forensic genetic genealogy.

Toni L. Gordon, who was 31 years old when she was killed, was the second of two women identified by authorities.

Shelia Cummings, 23, was the other woman identified in 2025, according to a release from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

North Carolina man sentenced in 1994 Indiana cold rape case James Shaffer confessed to the murders of Gordon and Cummings after police discovered the victims in 1987 in shallow graves within the dirt floor basement of a residence he rented.

Authorities said it’s believed that the murders occurred two years earlier. Relatives believed that Gordon moved out of state and lost contact with them. Nashville police said the family was notified.

Shaffer received two life sentences for the murders, and he died in prison in 2004.

The Source

Information for this story was provided by a Metropolitan Nashville Police Department release. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.