In a quiet Nashville neighborhood, a story of companionship took a tragic and unexpected turn, leaving friends and family mourning the loss of a vibrant and beloved woman. Linda Mae Marini, a 73-year-old woman of Italian-American heritage, was found deceased in her home on September 21, 2022.
Concerns were first raised when Linda missed a doctor's appointment and was not responding to calls.
Her physician, unable to reach her, requested a welfare check at her residence in the 2000 block of 20th Avenue South. Responding officers from the Metro Nashville Police Department were forced to make entry into the home after finding it locked. Inside, they made a grim discovery. Linda and her housemate, 68-year-old Robert Patchin Jr., were both found dead in separate rooms, each having sustained a fatal gunshot wound. A pistol was located near Mr. Patchin's body.
The subsequent investigation by the Metro Police Homicide Unit pieced together the sequence of events. Detectives concluded that Robert Patchin Jr. shot and killed Linda Marini before turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide. With this determination, the case was closed, as the sole suspect was also deceased. No other individuals were sought in connection with the deaths.
Linda, born on September 4, 1949, in Steubenville, Ohio, was remembered as an intelligent and active woman. A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Philosophy, she had a successful career in finance and banking before joining Vanderbilt University, from which she retired in 2014. She was a member of Mensa, an accomplished seamstress, and a talented baker who often shared her culinary creations with friends, neighbors, and local firefighters. She had a passion for ballroom dancing and gardening and was a devoted rescuer of stray cats. Her life was one of varied interests and community engagement, a stark contrast to the violent manner in which it ended.
