Lora Morgan faces first-degree murder charges after allegedly shooting Samantha Goolsby during an argument in Cookeville, Tennessee. Authorities say Morgan confessed to the killing and partially concealed the body in a wooded area. She is held on $820,000 bond.
On Tuesday morning, Lora Morgan, 57, and Samantha Goolsby argued at a home in Cookeville, Tennessee, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said. As Goolsby walked out the door, Morgan shot her, according to an affidavit cited by local reports. Morgan left the body at the scene for more than 24 hours before moving it to the wood line on a property along Phy Road, north of Cookeville, where a homeowner discovered the partially concealed remains around mid-afternoon Wednesday. A family member reported Goolsby missing around noon that day after she failed to return home the previous night. Investigators linked the discovery to a domestic dispute from the day before. Morgan confessed to deputies that she shot and killed Goolsby and used wipes to clean the crime scene on Wednesday, officials said. She was arrested around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and fabricating or tampering with evidence. Morgan is detained in Putnam County Jail on an $820,000 bond, with a court appearance scheduled for April 20. The sheriff's office has not disclosed the relationship between the two women amid the ongoing investigation. Cookeville lies in central Tennessee, about 80 miles east of Nashville.