A decades-old mystery continues to haunt the streets of Nashville as a recent review of civil rights era bombing cases yields more questions than answers. Detective Mike Roland of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) has concluded his investigation into three unsolved bombings from the late 1950s and early 1960s, after a prompt from Mayor O'Connell, inspired by Betsy Phillips' book "Dynamite Nashville." The review focused on heinous attacks at Hattie Cotton Elementary School, the Jewish Community Center, and the home of civil rights attorney J. Alexander Looby, according to an official statement from MNPD.
In a bid to possibly dredge up new leads, Roland's investigation brought to light previously unknown details. Among them, the curious case of a schoolgirl from Ohio, whose photograph was found at a burglary scene involving stolen dynamite. In an interview now released by the MNPD, the woman, aged 75, claimed ignorance of how her childhood picture came to be involved in such disturbing circumstances yet provided information about a deceased uncle characterized by racist beliefs. However, the research failed to definitely connect him or the photograph to the bombings in Tennessee.
The trail of evidence, or, more aptly, the lack thereof, continues to be the bane of these cold cases. Roland faced a trifecta of challenges in his investigation. A vast majority of the information existed merely as hard-to-decipher memoranda or newspaper clippings, with no hard evidence strong enough to pinpoint a suspect beyond a reasonable doubt. The physical evidence, such as tire impressions and metal fragments, mentioned in old reports had vanished or was mislabeled, rendering it effectively useless.
Further complicating the cases is the inexorable march of time. Witnesses, suspects, and original law enforcement have predominantly passed on or are beyond their twilight years. The one living connection, a man now in his seventies, provided a vague description of a vehicle from the time of the Jewish Community Center bombing. Yet, this proved to be insufficient for the task at hand—to conclusively solve the cases. These historical injustices, often attributed to groups such as the Ku Klux Klan or the Confederate Underground, remain obstinately unresolved.
The inexhaustible Detective Roland maintains that a resolution to these bombings would most likely hinge on a confession by an involved party or an eye-witness with irrefutable knowledge of the perpetrators. Until then, these cases have reverted to open, yet inactive status. Any individuals with information are urged to contact Nashville Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.
