9-Year-Old Girl Is Hermitage Murder-Suicide's Third Victim

NASHVILLE, TN — Friday's Hermitage murder-suicide claimed its final and youngest victim Saturday afternoon.

Metro Police announced that Crystal Daugherty, the 9-year-old daughter of Gary and Suzanne Daugherty, died Saturday from injuries she sustained in the fire apparently set by her father at the family's Hermitage home in a murder-suicide attempt. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

A man was walking down Leesa Ann Lane around 12:15 Friday morning when he saw smoke billowing from a home. After trying to rouse the occupants with knocks, he busted in the door, but was unable to proceed due to the thick smoke and called 911.

Firefighters arrived and found Suzanne Daugherty, 48, dead from head trauma and puncture wounds.

Her husband, Gary, 55, and Crystal were in a separate room and unresponsive. Mr. Daugherty was taken to TriStar Summit Medical Center and the child to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. Metro Police announced shortly before 11 p.m. Friday that Mr. Daugherty had died.

Investigators said an accelerant was spread throughout the house, plastic was placed over the windows and the smoke detectors were disabled. Contact information for extended family members was in a car outside the home. Mr. Daugherty was considered the prime suspect, police said.

The couple had no previous history of domestic violence, according to police, though Suzanne found sugar in her gas tank recently and the couple had filed for divorce.

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