Fri. Feb 14th, 2025

Warrant shows ex-Nashville assistant police chief charged in wife’s shooting death

By: Scott Broden

  • Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the case
  • Case hearing is set for criminal hearing Feb. 24 in General Sessions Court
  • Judge Lisa Eischeid is presiding over the criminal hearing

This story has been updated with new information.

Former Nashville assistant police chief John Sorace faces reckless homicide charges in the Jan. 9 shooting death of his wife, Rutherford County court records show.

“The victim suffered a gunshot wound to the neck,” states a case warrant filed Jan. 13 through General Sessions Court by Rutherford County Sheriff’s Detective Christian Wrather.

Sheriff’s Detective Capt. Todd Sparks confirmed Wednesday in a statement emailed to The Daily News Journal that the sheriff’s office charged 87-year-old Sorace of Dundee Court near Murfreesboro, following the investigation of the death of the suspect’s wife in their Rutherford County home.

Sorace as of Friday morning continues to be held on a $700,000 bond at Rutherford County Adult Detention Center in Murfreesboro, sheriff’s spokesman Lisa Marchesoni verified.

The Rutherford County Adult Detention Center on New Salem Highway is home to close to 1,000 inmates. DNJ FILE PHOTO Jim Davis/DNJ The Rutherford County Jail located on New Salem Highway.

Sorace told responding law enforcement to a call about a deceased female that he “woke up from a nap and discovered the victim lying on the floor near him,” according to the case warrant.

Law enforcement found a .40 caliber Glock on the couch where Sorace told law enforcement he had slept, and the weapon was about 8 feet from the victim’s body, the warrant said. Preliminary evidence shows the fatal firearm shot could have been from the couch area in the direction of the victim, according to the warrant.

“Several gunshot holes were observed in the same room and was later confirmed to have been caused by Sorace during previous reckless discharges of his weapon,” the warrant said.

Law enforcement also discovered that Sorace had additional firearm ammunition in the pocket of his pajama pants, the warrant noted.

“Home video surveillance shows that no one entered or exited the residence before the victim was fatally shot,” the warrant said.

A criminal hearing is set for Sorace as part of an 8:31 a.m. Feb. 24 docket in General Sessions Court before Judge Lisa Eischeid at the Rutherford County Judicial Center in downtown Murfreesboro, online Rutherford Circuit Court records show.

Sorace will be represented by a public defender, according to the court records.

Court records list the victim’s name as Sharon Sorace.

The investigation remains active, the sheriff’s office statement said.

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