In the spring of 2015, a grim discovery was made in a duplex on McFarland Lane in Dickson, Tennessee, marking the end of a young man's life and the beginning of a complex murder investigation. John Chris Goldtrap, a 27-year-old male, was found deceased on April 14, 2015, alongside his girlfriend, 23-year-old Lisa Wade Mackenzie McDonald. Firefighters, responding to a blaze at the residence, uncovered the scene after a neighbor in the adjoining unit made the emergency call.
The initial investigation into the fire quickly turned into a double homicide case. Authorities determined the fire was intentionally set with the use of accelerants in an attempt to conceal the truth of what had happened within the home. Autopsies later revealed that both Goldtrap and McDonald had been shot in the head. The weapons used in the killings were found to have belonged to Goldtrap himself.
The investigation, a joint effort by the Dickson Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, soon focused on a relative of Goldtrap. Kenneth Ray Niles, who was Goldtrap's 37-year-old cousin by marriage, admitted to being at the couple's residence on the night of April 13th, the last time either victim was seen or heard from. Investigators learned that Niles and Goldtrap had been involved in an argument, reportedly over pills that both men were involved in selling. Text messages from the evening of the murders showed Niles asking Goldtrap for pills and later for money. After the murders, Niles stole several items from the home and returned in the early hours of April 14th to set the fire, hoping to destroy any evidence.
In May 2015, a Dickson County grand jury indicted Kenneth Ray Niles on a host of charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated arson, especially aggravated robbery, especially aggravated burglary, and theft of property. The case against him was built on his inconsistent statements to investigators, text message evidence, and other forensic findings.
The legal proceedings culminated in a trial where Niles was found guilty on all counts, including two counts of premeditated murder and two counts of felony murder. The verdict carried a minimum sentence of life in prison. The case also involved two other men, Jamey Earl Donegan and Joshua Michael Pickering, who were charged with fabricating evidence in connection with the investigation.
