In the late summer of 2018, the community of Crossville, Tennessee, was shaken by a violent act that claimed the lives of two people. On the afternoon of September 14, 2018, police responded to a report of a shooting at the Cumberland County school bus garage. Upon arrival, they discovered a tragic scene. Joy J. Nostrom, a 58-year-old woman, was found deceased, and Mark Gunter, a 54-year-old man, was critically injured. Gunter was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
Both had been shot. The investigation into the deaths of Gunter and Nostrom quickly focused on one individual: Joy's estranged husband, 74-year-old Warren Nostrom.
Warren Nostrom was found at the scene with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. After being treated at a hospital and released, he was taken into custody. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced that he was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of his wife and Mark Gunter. He was subsequently booked into the Cumberland County Jail.
As investigators delved deeper, a troubled picture of the Nostroms' marriage emerged. Court records revealed that Joy Nostrom had been trying to leave her husband and had sought legal protection. Just days before the shooting, she had filed for divorce. Furthermore, she had obtained multiple orders of protection against her husband, citing that he had threatened to kill her and that she was in fear for her life. One of these orders noted that Warren had access to firearms. The investigation also suggested a connection between the two victims, with reports indicating that Mark Gunter and Joy Nostrom were friends on Facebook.
The legal process against Warren Nostrom moved forward, with court dates set and the case proceeding to trial. In a court of law, a Cumberland County jury weighed the evidence presented. After deliberation, they found Warren J. Nostrom guilty of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. Following the conviction, the court handed down a sentence of concurrent life imprisonments. Nostrom later appealed his conviction, but the judgments of the trial court were ultimately affirmed.
