A deadly shooting today in Hermitage, which resulted in the death of 23-year-old Cassidy Jackson, has taken a turn, as the main suspect, Robert E. Smith Jr., is now dead by suicide following a confrontation with law enforcement in Georgia. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department reported that Smith, wanted on multiple aggravated charges, was under investigation related to Jackson's death when he engaged in a shootout with officers before taking his own life.
Smith, a 35-year-old Cookeville resident was facing eight counts of aggravated assault, and one count each of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated stalking, domestic assault, harassment, and vandalism from earlier this month – charges not connected to the homicide of Jackson. Jackson was reported missing by her family before her body was discovered with a fatal gunshot wound to her head, her vehicle later found in Atlanta by a license plate reader. According to the official statement by Nashville police, Smith had not been formally charged with Jackson's murder at the time of his death.
Following a pursuit by Calhoun Police Department officers, and subsequently Whitfield County Sheriff's Office deputies, Smith crashed a stolen vehicle before ending his life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. "Smith fired upon Calhoun Police Department officers and then Whitfield County Sheriff's Office deputies after a pursuit," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation noted, according to the press release.
Evidence collected from the scene in Georgia, according to Nashville police, has linked Smith to Jackson's murder on Rachels Lane and to the incidents in Nashville. The GBI's investigation into Smith's death is ongoing and may provide additional information regarding the sequence of events leading to these outcomes.
