MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WGNS News) – WGNS continues to follow the legal proceedings involving two individuals arrested in connection with the murder of a woman in Murfreesboro earlier this year.
In June, Murfreesboro Police responded to a report of shots fired at MJ's Sports Bar & Grill on Northwest Broad Street. The investigation led to authorities locating a woman suffering from a gunshot wound inside a vehicle near the business... That was Rutherford County District Attorney General Jennings Jones.
The victim, 27-year-old Cierra Alexis Torres, a native of Madison, Tennessee, was rushed to the hospital following the shooting (her photo above article). Tragically, she died two days later, on June 15, 2026, just seven days before her 28th birthday. Torres left behind a son, her mother and stepfather, three brothers, and numerous extended family members and friends.
Investigative efforts led to two arrests in connection with the case. The first suspect was taken into custody just three days after Torres died... Ke'Osha Lashay Morton, who also goes by the name Ke'Osha Bassham, was arrested on June 18, 2026. The 37-year-old Hendersonville, Tennessee, resident remains behind bars at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center, facing three counts of attempted first-degree murder.
A second suspect, a Nashville man with a prior felony conviction, was charged with the first-degree murder of Torres... Castella Nehimiah Goodman, who is approaching his 40th birthday, was arrested on June 18, 2026, following additional investigative developments that helped authorities identify and locate him.
Investigators initially reported that the shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute that escalated at MJ's Sports Bar & Grill. According to the preliminary investigation, Ms. Morton confronted a group of people inside the establishment. Police said the group, which included Ms. Torres, left the building, but the confrontation continued outside. As Torres and others attempted to leave in a pickup truck, Goodman allegedly opened fire on the vehicle, striking Torres as she sat in the passenger seat.
The driver reportedly fled the scene in the pickup truck with the wounded victim still inside. Officers later located Torres suffering from a gunshot wound in the parking lot of a nearby muffler shop, a short distance from where the shooting occurred. She was transported to the hospital in extremely critical condition but died from her injuries two days later.
According to the Murfreesboro Police Department, detectives with the Violent Crimes Unit, working alongside the department's Forensic Services Unit and Metro Nashville Police, executed search warrants in Davidson County as part of the investigation into Goodman. Those investigative efforts ultimately led to his arrest.
Morton also had a prior arrest record. In 2024, she was arrested on charges involving possession of methamphetamine and carrying a firearm with the intent to go armed in Rutherford County. Those charges were separate from the June 2026 homicide investigation.
Following a preliminary hearing in August, the case was bound over to a Rutherford County grand jury for further consideration. Both defendants are scheduled to appear in court for arraignment on January 8, 2027.
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