In the autumn of 2010, a young man's life was tragically cut short in a South Nashville apartment complex parking lot, a case that would remain a focus for cold case detectives for years to come. Essex Issac Washington, a 24-year-old male, was fatally shot on the night of November 27, 2010. The incident unfolded in the parking area of the Bavaria Apartments located on Packard Drive.
Investigations into the shooting pointed towards robbery as the likely motive behind the violent act.
For nearly a decade, the case of Essex Washington's death remained without a publicly named suspect. However, in November 2019, Homicide-Cold Case detectives with the Metro Nashville Police Department announced a significant breakthrough in the investigation. They identified Aaron Berkley, who was 31 at the time of the announcement, as the individual responsible for Washington's murder. Further investigation revealed that Washington and Berkley were not strangers; they were acquaintances. It was discovered that the two men had been in communication by phone just as Washington was arriving at the apartment complex to meet with Berkley. Moments after Washington exited his vehicle, he was shot.
Following the identification of Berkley as the prime suspect, a grand jury returned an indictment charging him with first-degree murder. At the time of the public announcement, an outstanding warrant for his arrest was active, and law enforcement officials were actively seeking information on his location. It was also noted that Berkley had a history of other criminal offenses, including a conviction for an aggravated robbery that occurred in 2014, for which he had received a probated sentence. A felony probation violation warrant was also outstanding against him. The search for Aaron Berkley began, marking a pivotal turn in the long-unsolved case of Essex Washington's death.
