In the early summer of 2015, family and friends of Gloria Ann Foster were left with unending questions and grief when her life was tragically cut short. Known to some as "Glo-Ball," Gloria was a 51-year-old Black woman and a mother to three children, LaToya Howard, Jonathan Foster, and Dontai Foster. She was also a doting grandmother to Dontez Foster and Zayah Covington. Born on October 28, 1963, she was part of a large family with many siblings, including Rickie, Jerry Sr., Daryl, and Darlene Reese, Bridgett Glenn, James Smith, Lela Wilson, Amanda Goins, and Liz Booker. Friends remembered her as a "pleasant and beautiful soul" who, like anyone, had her good days and bad days.
The last time anyone is known to have seen Gloria was on Wednesday, June 24, 2015. Two days later, on the morning of Friday, June 26, a man who was experiencing homelessness made a grim discovery in an alley behind the commercial properties at 280 Hermitage Avenue in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a woman's body wrapped in a piece of carpet. Authorities were called to the scene, and the woman was soon identified as Gloria Foster.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department launched a homicide investigation into her death. The location where she was found, an alleyway in an industrial and commercial area near the Cumberland River and just outside of downtown Nashville, offered few immediate clues. Investigators worked to piece together a timeline of Gloria's final hours, from when she was last seen alive to when her body was left in the alley. The cause of her death was not publicly released, but the circumstances were clearly indicative of foul play.
Despite the efforts of detectives, the investigation into Gloria Foster's murder grew cold. No suspects have ever been publicly identified, and no arrests have been made in connection with her killing. The case remains an open and unsolved homicide, a source of persistent pain for her loved ones. The lack of answers has left her family in a state of limbo, unable to find closure or see justice served for the person who took Gloria from them.
A funeral service was held for Gloria on Saturday, July 11, 2015, at Watson Grove Missionary Baptist Church on Horton Avenue, where family and friends gathered to mourn and remember her. She was later interred at Greenwood North Cemetery. Her loved ones continue to hold onto the memories of her life and the hope that someone will come forward with the information needed to solve her case.
Years have passed, but the quest for justice for Gloria Foster continues. The Nashville Police Department's Cold Case Unit periodically reviews the file, waiting for a new lead or a crucial tip that could break the case open. Her family is left to wonder who was responsible for her death and why, holding out hope that one day the person or people who ended her life will be held accountable.
