Questions, concerns remain after 'random' and 'unrelated' deaths of two Nashville nurses

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) -Two young nurses, dead in just two months. Metro Nashville Police continue to investigate the deaths of Ashley Brown and Tiffany Ferguson.

Four days before Christmas, 2016: 27-year-old Ashley Brown, a scrub tech at St. Thomas West Hospital was found at trash disposal site on Freightliner Drive.

That location, 15 miles from where she was last seen alive.

Just over two months later, February 2017: 23-year-old Tiffany Ferguson, an Intensive Care Unit nurse also working at St. Thomas West was found dead in her Wedgewood Park condo.

Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron says Ferguson was stabbed during what appeared to be a "random and rare act of violence." A suspect, captured on surveillance video, is believed to have walked into a condo through the unlocked front door and killed Ferguson while stealing items from the home. Her murder has sent shock waves through the Wedgewood community, leading to community members voicing their concerns to Metro Police about safety and the "transient nature" of the area.

In the death of Ashley Brown, police have yet to rule it a homicide despite circumstantial conditions which some people believe seems to indicate a murder. Brown had returned to a friend's apartment on the 200 block of 25th Avenue North after a night out which included a stop at Santa's Pub, coincidentally just five miles away from Ferguson's home. Friends, family, and police have stated after returning to the apartment, Brown mentioned something about "cigarettes" and stepped outside. She left her keys, purse, and phone inside. She would never be heard from again. An initial report from the Medical Examiner came back inconclusive and police are awaiting another ME report before confirming the cause and classification of death.

Fox 17 is still working to find out how Brown's body was transported to the trash disposal site. Given the investigation is ongoing, Metro Police could not clarify if she was found in the original dumpster which was transported from the apartments or if the dumpster was emptied into a truck and then dumped at the facility. Unlike the physical evidence available in Ferguson's murder, a source close to the investigation tells FOX 17 the transportation of Brown's body essentially contaminated the physical evidence (her body), leaving the medical examiner's report to give more definitive answers. But even with physical evidence in the Ferguson case, questions still remain. Police have surveillance video of a suspect and they have confirmed they believe they have the weapon used when she was "stabbed," but police say "work is ongoing to identify the weapon."