The murder of Carolyn Fisher
Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee · 1998
Overview
Carolyn Fisher, a 41-year-old woman, was found dead on May 22, 1998, alongside Interstate 40 East near the Jefferson Street exit in Nashville, Tennessee, after being sexually assaulted. DNA collected at the scene came from a single male suspect but went unmatched for more than 20 years. In 2020, a Metro Nashville Police Department cold case detective submitted the profile to ancestry research databases, and in 2023 a private genealogy company developed a potential match. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation laboratory confirmed the DNA belonged to Michael Anthony Bean, who had himself been murdered on June 23, 1998, in an unrelated case about a month after Fisher's death. On February 4, 2026, the MNPD announced Bean as the suspect, concluding no one other than Bean was involved in the homicide.
How it was solved
DNA evidence recovered from Fisher's 1998 homicide scene was determined to be from a single male, but it produced no hits in law enforcement databases for more than two decades. In 2020, MNPD Cold Case Unit Detective Curtis Hafley submitted the profile to ancestry research databases for forensic genetic genealogy analysis. In 2023, a private genealogy research company identified a potential match, leading investigators to Michael Anthony Bean. Because Bean had been murdered in an unrelated case on June 23, 1998, his DNA had been collected by the Medical Examiner's Office. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Laboratory compared that sample to the evidence from Fisher's homicide and confirmed a positive match. The MNPD announced the identification on February 4, 2026, stating that based on the DNA results it is not believed anyone besides Bean was involved in Fisher's homicide. No prosecution is possible because Bean is dead.
Sources
- 1998 Murder Suspect Identified Through Modern DNA Testing
“Based on the DNA test results, it is not believed that anyone besides Bean was involved in Fisher's homicide.”
- Suspect in 1998 Nashville murder identified through DNA testing
“DNA evidence collected from the scene was determined to be from the same male suspect, but no matches were reported for more than 20 years.”
- MNPD: Suspect positively identified in unsolved homicide from 1998
“In 2020, Detective Hafley submitted the DNA to ancestry research databases, and a private genealogy research company discovered a potential match in 2023.”
- Body found off I-40 in 1998 cold case now linked to suspect via DNA
“The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Laboratory confirmed the match by comparing DNA from Bean against evidence from the 1998 crime scene.”
- A 1998 Murder: DNA Names Suspect
“DNA collected from Fisher's homicide was eventually matched to Bean through testing performed with help from the medical examiner's office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation laboratory.”
- Police Briefs: Feb. 3-9
“The Cold Case Unit identified Bean as the suspect involved in Fisher's killing through this DNA genealogy process.”
- About the MNPD Cold Case Homicide Unit
“all homicides will always remain to be open investigations and will never be closed until they are solved”