In the autumn of 2017, the life of 39-year-old Horace Whitley, a Black male from Nashville, Tennessee, was tragically cut short. On November 21st, Whitley was fatally shot in an apartment in the James Cayce Homes housing development. His body was later discovered in a wooded area near the Martha O’Bryan Center, a community resource facility in the same neighborhood.
The discovery marked the beginning of a homicide investigation that would lead to the identification of two suspects.
Investigators quickly worked to piece together the events that led to Whitley's death. Their efforts soon pointed to two individuals: Shanon Pleasant and Anassadi M. Henderson. According to the investigation, it was Pleasant who was the alleged shooter in the incident. Following the fatal shooting inside the apartment, Henderson, who was 23 at the time, was accused of assisting Pleasant in moving Whitley's body from the scene of the crime to the wooded area where it was ultimately found.
Within a week of the discovery of Whitley's body, the Metro Nashville Police Department made its first arrest in the case. Anassadi M. Henderson was taken into custody and charged with criminal homicide for his role as an accomplice in the murder. His alleged assistance in concealing the victim's body was a critical element in the case against him. While Henderson was behind bars, the search for the man believed to be the primary aggressor, Shanon Pleasant, continued.
The legal process for Anassadi M. Henderson would see his initial charge of criminal homicide later amended to accessory after the fact. Information regarding the final conviction and sentencing for Shanon Pleasant is not readily available in the public record. The motive behind the shooting and the specific circumstances that led to the violent confrontation in the East Nashville apartment remain largely undisclosed.
