2 Dead, Child Critical Injured In Hermitage Fire Suspected As Murder-Suicide: Police

HERMITAGE, TN — A Hermitage house fire that killed a woman and her husband and critically injured their child may have been a murder-suicide attempt, according to Metro Police.

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. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

Firefighters arrived and found Suzanne Daugherty, 48, dead. She, however, was in a room separate from the fire with injuries that were not fire-related.

Her husband, Gary, 55, and a nine-year-old girl 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 fire remains under investigation by fire marshal and Metro Police's domestic violence division. 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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