RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN - An investigation into the death of a baby in 2023 has resulted in a guilty plea being filed in a Rutherford County courtroom. The infant died while under the care of a grandmother... Assistant District Attorney Trevor Lynch told WGNS News that investigators were immediately met with inconsistent explanations as to what led to the child’s death...

As detectives with the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office delved deeper into questioning Cheryl L. Bodily, who was 34 at the time, her answers became increasingly inconsistent... The bed that the grandmother referred to during questioning was found in disarray, cluttered with pillows and blankets...

Detectives gathered enough information to suspect foul play in the infant’s death, leading them to request a drug screen for the grandmother...

In August of that same year (2023), Mrs. Bodily was indicted on first-degree murder charges. Throughout the judicial process, the case was delayed multiple times as continuances were granted, leading up to October 2025.

This past month, Cheryl L. Bodily appeared in the courtroom of Judge James Turner. The now 37-year-old LaVergne woman entered a guilty plea... According to court records, Bodily must serve the full 12-year prison sentence before becoming eligible for release.