Episode description

February 22, 1996. Nashville, Tennessee. 18-year old Melissa Chilton and 18-year Tiffany Campbell show up for work at Exotic Tan for Men, a tanning salon which doubles as an adult entertainment establishment. At some point during their shift, an assailant murders the two women in the salon’s laundry room and they are stabbed a combined total of over 100 times. Seventeen years later, a suspect named Patrick Streater, who happens to be Tiffany’s former boyfriend, is charged with both murders. However, in 2018, the authorities announce that new DNA testing has significantly weakened their case against Streater, making it impossible to take him to trial, so the murder charges are dropped. Did Patrick Streater actually kill Melissa Chilton and Tiffany Campbell or was someone else responsible? On this week’s episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a horrific double homicide which is often referred to as the “Tanning Bed Murders”.

Additional Reading:

https://www.newspapers.com/image/113504770/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/112002499/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/113512260/

https://www.newspapers.com/image/113465555/

https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/a-17-year-ordeal-ends-for-two-murder-victims-mothers-as-a-grisly-unsolved-crime/article_c0eb8d97-2035-5eb0-b1f1-db90856f8dd2.html

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2018/06/29/1996-nashville-tanning-bed-killings-charges-dropped-against-suspect-patrick-streater/745475002/

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2017/03/13/charged-1996-tanning-bed-killings-man-argues-dismiss-case/99135074/

https://www.wkrn.com/news/during-hearing-inmate-testifies-his-cousin-committed-tanning-bed-murders/

https://fox17.com/fox-17-investigates/unsolved-27-years-later-can-justice-be-found-in-double-homicide-of-two-nashville-teens

https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/mother-urges-police-to-retest-evidence-in-unsolved-nashville-double-murder/

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2023/02/14/just-askin-what-happened-to-melissa-chilton-tiffany-campbell-nashville/69879683007/

https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/90-year-old-grandmother-speaks-for-the-first-time-about-a-murder-that-rocked-nashville-and-her-family/

https://fox17.com/news/local/former-suspect-in-nashville-tanning-bed-murders-charged-with-attempted-rape-in-washington-state-king-county-patrick-streater

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Metro Nashville Police Department’s Cold Case Unit at (615) 862-7329.

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

“The Trail Went Cold” is going to be appearing on podcast row at “Crimecon” in Nashville on May 31-June 2, 2024 and “Crimecon UK” in London on September 21-22, 2024. To get a 10 % discount on the purchase of tickets to either event, please use our specialized promo code, “COLD24”, by visiting Crimecon.com or Crimecon.co.uk.

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the True Crime Podcast Festival, taking place at the Denver Marriott Westminster in Colorado on July 12-14, 2024. To get a 15 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAIL”, by visiting https://truecrimepodcastfestival.com.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.