The man believed to have been responsible for the deaths of his ex girlfriend and her step mother on Thursday has died.
Sheriff Patrick Ray told WJLE that 22 year old Brandon Michael Gray of Foster Road, Smithville died Friday evening at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville where he was being treated for a self inflicted gunshot wound.
Authorities believe that Gray shot and stabbed his ex-girlfriend, 21 year old Heather Nichole Eley and her step mother, 42 year old Lori Ann Eley at their residence on Allens Chapel Road on Thursday afternoon and later called 911 to have officers do a welfare check on his two young children who were also in the home.
Officers later spotted Gray leaving the Mapco Express in a Mazda car. They initiated a pursuit on Cookeville Highway. Gray pulled over near Rolling Acres Road and shot himself. He was first taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital and then to Vanderbilt Hospital.
The bodies of the victims were taken to Nashville for an autopsy.
The Sheriff’s Department and TBI Special Agent Billy Miller have been investigating but have not released any information as to a possible motive for the murders.

Another great crowd turned out on Friday to enjoy chili and delicious baked goods at Habitat for Humanity’s Eighth Annual Chili Cook-off and Bake Sale, which was held at the 303 Building on the square. The DeKalb County Board of Education won the “Best Chili” award, and “Blessed and Highly Flavored” from Allen’s Chapel and Buckner’s Chapel Methodist Churches followed in second place. “Wild West Gang” from the DeKalb County Board of Education also won first place honors in the decorating contest.
According to Sharon Evans and the Habitat Chili Cook-off Committee, the event raised $3,000.00, which will be used toward the building of the fourth Habitat house in DeKalb County next year. “Hot chili on such a cold day – what could be better?” said Evans. “It has turned into a great community event that people look forward to. We appreciate all the chili teams for their hard work and dedication to this event and to everyone who brought the delicious baked goods and beautiful plants.” Evans added.
Ten teams participated in the event, including “Blessed and Highly Flavored” from Allen’s Chapel and Buckner’s Chapel Methodist Churches; “Wild West Gang” from the DeKalb County Board of Education; “Hot Checks Chili” from DeKalb Community Bank; “The Courthouse Gang” from the DeKalb County Officials; “Unconditional Chili” from Harbinger Media Partners; “Hale’s Bowls of Fire” from James C. Hale; “Comfort Builders” from Middle Tennessee Natural Gas; “Avant-garde Chili” from Art Revolution; “Bumpers Web-Slingers” from Bumpers Drive In; “Building Chili – One Bean at a Time” from Habitat for Humanity.
Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization. Habitat for Humanity builds and renovates houses in partnership with volunteers and families in need, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. The houses then are sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest charged. To contact Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County, please call 215-8181.

It is time again for the annual Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour in which more than 25 artists in 11 different locations open their workshops and invite the public to see what they make. From 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 28- 30, the roads will be full of curious visitors who make their way from studio to studio, talking with the artists and seeing what they make, how they do it, and what inspires them. Many of them will buy or commission work directly from the person who makes their livelihood with their hands.
Many tour goers have received a brochure in the mail. The brochure includes a map to the studios and descriptions of what they will find at each destination. A good place to start the tour and get a brochure is at the Stella Luna Art Gallery at 412 S. Mountain Street in Smithville. A downloadable brochure is also available at the studio tour’s website: www.offthebeatenpathtour.com.
The annual tour is free and open to the public. Everyone who comes on the tour is eligible to enter a drawing for a beautiful ceramic platter donated by Smithville potter, Susan DeMay. The drawing will be held on WJLE’s Chamber Chats radio program on Wednesday, November second.
The fall colors will be at their peak, so this weekend is a beautiful time to travel the back roads and see what this area has to offer. Follow the yellow Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour signs and you are assured to be delighted with what you find.

The bodies of a woman and her step mother were found at their residence on Allen’s Chapel Road Thursday afternoon, the victims of an apparent shooting and stabbing while the man believed responsible for their deaths died Friday evening at Vanderbilt Hospital of a self inflicted gunshot wound.
Dead are 21 year old Heather Nichole Eley and her step mother 42 year old Lori Ann Eley.
The suspect, 22 year old Brandon Michael Gray of Foster Road Smithville, died Friday evening at Vanderbilt Hospital. He was the ex-boyfriend of Heather Eley.
Sheriff Patrick Ray told WJLE that Gray called 911 from his cell phone at 3:45 p.m. asking that someone be sent to the residence on Allen’s Chapel Road to check on his children. Gray said that he thought something was wrong there.
Since the residence is located near the city limits line, both a Smithville Police Officer and a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputy were dispatched to the home. Officers arrived and found the front door locked but they were able to enter through a back door. A boy and girl, both under the age of three, were found in the home. They were unharmed. The bodies of the two women were discovered in the living room and kitchen area. Sheriff Ray said that it appeared that the women had been shot and stabbed.
The officers removed the children from the residence and summoned other law enforcement officers and detectives to the scene. The children, who belong to Gray and Heather Eley, are now in the care of the Department of Children Services.
Sheriff Ray said that after Gray was identified as a person of interest, officers began looking for him. A deputy later spotted who he thought was Gray in a green Mazda pulling out of the parking lot of the Mapco Express convenience market at the corner of East Broad Street and North Congress Boulevard in Smithville. The officer got behind the car on Highway 56 north and radioed central dispatch to run the tag number. It revealed that the car was registered to one of the victims. The deputy tried to pull over the car but it failed to stop. The officer and a sheriff’s department detective then initiated a pursuit from near the city limits to the intersection of Rolling Acres Road in the county. As the car pulled over and came to a stop, the officers heard a gunshot. They rushed to the vehicle and found that the driver, Gray, had shot himself in the head. The officers called for an ambulance and Gray was taken to DeKalb Community Hospital. Because of the weather, Gray could not be airlifted so he was transported by ground ambulance from the local hospital to Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville.
Sheriff Ray said that authorities have the pistol that Gray used to shoot himself. They have also recovered from the Eley home, kitchen knives which may have been used in the stabbing of the two women. The bodies have been sent to Nashville for an autopsy.
Authorities will not yet comment on a possible motive for the murders.
The case remains under investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and TBI Special Agent Billy Miller. Members of the Smithville Police Department, District Attorney General’s Office, and Tennessee Highway Patrol all assisted at the scene.

The body of a 70 year old Putnam County man was recovered from Center Hill Lake at Cookeville Boat Dock in DeKalb County Wednesday night.
Dead is Mineth (Doc) Burchett of Cookeville.
The TWRA told WJLE that Burchett, according to family members, left home Wednesday morning to go fishing.
At around 6:00 p.m. Wednesday evening, a marina operator spotted a bass boat on the water just a few feet from the boat dock. No one was aboard the boat but the engine was running (idling).
911 was notified and members of the TWRA arrived on the scene along with the DeKalb County Rescue Squad, DeKalb EMS, and officers of the Sheriff’s Department.
Burchett’s body was found in about eight feet of water near the boat dock, only a few feet from his boat.
TWRA officials said they are not certain whether Burchett drowned, had some sort of accident, or suffered a medical incident causing his death. Authorities do not suspect foul play.