Woman’s shooting death investigation continues

It’s been more than a month since the shooting death of Mt. Juliet mother Sara A. McPherson, 35, but investigators said the investigation is "going the way it should."

A Mt. Juliet police officer discovered McPherson shot to death in the driver's seat of her 2002 Mitsubishi Diamante parked near the U-Store-It facility in south Mt. Juliet just before dawn Nov. 1.

"Early this morning, Officer Michael Rountree was on routine patrol on Central Pike around 1:13 a.m. and became suspicious when he saw a vehicle parked with the lights on," said MJPD Community Policing Director Tyler Chandler at the time. "The vehicle was parked at the U-Store-It."

According to Chandler, police are treating the death as a homicide and will not release details until the investigation is complete.

However, this week Chandler said the investigation is moving along.

"Detectives are following strong leads and working to identify the suspect," he said.

The medical examiner has estimated McPherson died sometime between Oct. 31 at 10 p.m. and just before the time the body was discovered, according to Chandler.

Members of the Lebanon Police Department's Forensic Unit are assisting Mt. Juliet investigators on solving this crime.

According to Chandler, the vehicle was relocated to a garage at City Hall to be properly processed.

In a statement issued after McPherson's body was found, Chandler said there was "no indication that the woman was looking at a storage unit." He also said the woman was not an employee of the storage facility and "there is no indication that this was a random killing."

"This is a very unfortunate and sad event," Chandler said at the time. "And it is the Mt. Juliet Police Department's mission to investigate this homicide with complete dedication to ensure that justice is met for the victim."

Mt. Juliet News Managing Editor Laurie Everett can be reached at 615-754-6397 or mtjulietnews@tds.net.