2 sought for questioning after ‘brutal murder’ in East Nashville

A preliminary hearing has been set for two suspects who reportedly confessed to a brutal double murder in East Nashville. Police say a lingering dispute involving heroin use led to the attack in the east Nashville home.

Authorities are investigating the slaying of two people whose bodies were found stuffed in a Nashville closet and covered in trash.

Brandon Griswold and Whitney Gray both face charges of criminal homicide after police discovered the bodies of 23-year-old Alexandra Grubbs and her boyfriend, 24-year-old Preston Claybrooks Jr., Saturday morning inside their apartment.

On Saturday morning, Claybrooks’ mother, who reported her son missing on Thursday afternoon, called police to report the odor of decomposition coming from the apartment. The Tennessean reports that investigators believe Griswold and Gray lived for several days with their decomposing bodies wrapped in bedspreads and shoved into a closet.

Police had gathered intelligence from members of the local homeless community that Griswold and Gray were traveling through the area by foot. Police say the physical trauma to their bodies was so severe their cause of death could not be determined until an autopsy Monday. As officers arrived to begin a coordinated search, the two were spotted in the parking lot at Harding Place and Trousdale Drive, and were taken into custody.