In the late hours of a Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee, the life of 27-year-old Joshua Ryan Steele, a male from the nearby community of Joelton, was tragically cut short. On February 5, 2020, Steele had checked into the Fiddler's Inn on Music Valley Drive at 10:25 p.m. Less than an hour later, his body was discovered in the motel's parking lot. An altercation that began at the doorway of his second-story room is believed to have escalated and moved to the upper balcony before Steele
ultimately collapsed in the west side of the parking lot from a fatal gunshot wound.
Responding to a call from a citizen who found Steele, Hermitage Precinct officers arrived at the scene at 11:20 p.m. to find him deceased. Investigators impounded a Nissan pickup truck from the parking lot, which they believed Steele had driven to the motel. In the initial stages of the investigation, detectives worked to piece together Steele's activities leading up to the deadly encounter, trying to determine if he had prearranged to meet someone at the location.
The investigation took a significant turn when it was discovered that Steele had allegedly contacted a woman through an online escort advertisement. This led authorities to 21-year-old Britany Lynn Foster. Investigators identified Foster as the woman in the online ad that Steele had reportedly contacted. A search of Foster's apartment uncovered crucial evidence, including a pistol found in a master bedroom closet and a cell phone. Forensic analysis of the cell phone revealed communication between Steele and Foster on the night of the murder.
Based on the evidence gathered, Hermitage Precinct detectives arrested Britany Lynn Foster and charged her with the murder of Joshua Ryan Steele. Following her arrest, Foster was jailed on a $500,000 bond.
