Posted 11/17/22

In a continuing story, a third body in the 1991 drowning investigation in Giles County was exhumed Wednesday.

30-plus years ago, the deaths of 20-year-old Dennis Martindale, 15-year-old Stephen Russell Bass and 16-year-old Patrick Fletcher were ruled accidental drownings by a medical examiner that later lost his license due to botched autopsies. It was a claim the families of the three young men never believed.

Early Wednesday exhumation crews, investigators and Medical Examiner Dr. Joe Fite gathered with members of Dennis Martindale’s family in Elkmont, as Dennis’ casket was pulled out of the ground.

Dennis’ body, along with his two friends, was pulled from Richland Creek in Giles County over 30 years ago.

The families believe the three Black men were murdered and it was covered up. 

A request for a death certificate brought the deaths back to the forefront earlier this year. District Attorney General Brent Cooper reopened the investigation and exhumed the bodies.

Dennis’ remains were sent to the Davidson County Medical Examiner’s Office where a new autopsy will be performed.

The remains of Bass and Fletcher were exhumed in July. The autopsies are completed, but investigators still haven’t determined a cause of death.