NASHVILLE, Tennessee — A quiet Saturday afternoon on Graceland Drive turned into a scene no neighborhood expects to witness.
Metro Nashville Police confirmed that 74-year-old Stephen Slater shot his stepson, 49-year-old John D. Norman, before turning the gun on himself in what investigators are calling a murder-suicide.
It was Slater’s own wife who called 911.
A Family Torn Apart in Minutes
When first responders arrived at the Goodlettsville home, Slater was already dead at the scene.
Norman was still alive — barely. Paramedics rushed him to Skyline Medical Center, where doctors fought to save him.
He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
Two members of the same family. Gone within the same afternoon.
The Woman Left Behind
The detail that is hard to shake is this — Slater’s wife was the one who made that call.
She was there. She witnessed it. And then she picked up the phone and dialed 911.
What led to the shooting, what words were exchanged, what broke inside that house before the first shot was fired — investigators have not yet said. The motive remains under investigation.
But behind every police report like this one is a person left standing in the wreckage. In this case, a woman who lost both her husband and her son in a single afternoon.
What We Know Right Now
The Metro Nashville Police Department is leading the investigation. No additional suspects are being sought.
Goodlettsville residents in the surrounding area are not considered to be in any danger.
The names of both victims have been officially released by police.
This story is still developing as investigators piece together what happened inside that home on Graceland Drive.
Have you or someone you know been affected by family violence in your community? Share your thoughts in the comments — these conversations matter more than we realize.