In the early morning hours of December 3, 2023, the quiet of Crossville, Tennessee, was shattered by the inferno that engulfed a home on Flathead Road. Firefighters battling the blaze made a grim discovery within the charred remains of the residence: the body of 66-year-old Gale Ellen Meister. Initially, it was believed she had perished in the fire, a tragic accident. However, the subsequent investigation by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the District Attorney's Office would unravel a much darker story.
An autopsy revealed a startling truth: Gale Meister had not died from the fire. She had been fatally shot before the flames ever began their destructive dance. This pivotal discovery transformed the case from a fatal fire investigation into a homicide inquiry. Investigators soon learned that a man, 57-year-old Frank Lackey of Nashville, had been living with Meister. As they delved deeper, they realized that both Lackey and Meister's vehicle were missing from the scene.
The search for Frank Lackey intensified, and he quickly became the primary suspect in Meister's murder. Investigators tracked him to Rutherford County, Tennessee, where a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent spotted him driving the victim's car. A Rutherford County Sheriff's deputy attempted to initiate a traffic stop. Before the deputy could make contact, however, the tragic saga reached its own violent conclusion. Frank Lackey took his own life, dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. With the death of the sole suspect, the investigation concluded, the case classified as a domestic homicide, arson, and suicide.
