It Looked Like a Car Accident. Now It’s a Murder Mystery.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Photos Steven Hale
The family of 29-year-old Ryan Trent learned about one tragedy, only to soon discover it was much more sinister.
NASHVILLE—The 911 call came at 2:39 a.m., reporting a car smashed into a tree around seven miles northeast of this city’s downtown, in the shadow of criss-crossing interstate overpasses and on-ramps. The caller, a man riding with his fiancée on their way to nearby Madison, said he didn’t know if there was anyone inside.
Officers from the Metro Nashville Police Department arrived at the scene around five minutes later on Sept. 28, 2016, and discovered the answer: Inside a wrecked white Chevrolet Silverado, they found the bloody body of 29-year-old Ryan Trent. He was dead.
Presuming they were dealing with a single-car accident, the officers called out a fatal crash team and staff from the medical examiner’s office. They were still processing the scene when Trent’s roommate Michael Stevens showed up.