Update: Opryland Hotel Balcony Deaths
Maggie
Tennessean:
Police say husband strangled wife before fall from hotel balcony
By KATHY CARLSON
Staff Writer
The families of a couple who fell from an Opryland Hotel balcony Friday
grappled yesterday with new statements from Metro police, who said they think
Torre Norman strangled his wife, Misty, before pushing her over the terrace.
Police also said yesterday, based on Metro Medical Examiner Dr. Bruce Levy's
findings, that they no longer believe Torre Norman killed himself, as they
initially concluded, but that he died accidentally. They believe he lost his
balance and fell as he tried to push Misty Norman's body over the balcony
railing to make her death look like a suicide.
The Hopkinsville, Ky., couple's relatives are trying to make sense of their
losses.
Torre Norman's mother, Nancy Gresham, remembers a son who excelled in high
school track, ran marathons and, for the past 18 months, worked on the family's
farm.
Misty Norman was bright and beautiful, she said, and was studying psychology at
a community college. They had a baby daughter, Victoria, and by all outward
signs, a bright future.
''He was a wonderful, wonderful son,'' Gresham said. ''We just loved him.''
But last Friday night, the Hopkinsville, Ky., couple lay dead on a walkway at
Nashville's posh Opryland Hotel.
Police initially ruled Misty Norman's death a homicide and Torre's a suicide,
but yesterday said they reached a different conclusion on what caused their
deaths.
The finding is hard for Gresham and her husband, Jerry Gresham, to accept. ''I
just don't believe he strangled her,'' Jerry Gresham, Torre's stepfather, said
yesterday.
When police arrived at the hotel Friday night, Misty Norman, 26, was already
dead. Torre, 30, died later at Skyline Medical Center.
The two graduated from Madisonville North Hopkins High School in Madisonville,
Ky. ''They met later on in life,'' and had been married for less than a year,
Nancy Gresham said.
Torre started working on the Greshams' 1,000 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat
after he got in trouble for ''running from the law'' after drinking, Jerry
Gresham said. He helped his stepson make bond and put him to work on the farm.
Nancy Gresham said her son was working hard and talking about taking college
courses in agriculture, and both Greshams said he had put his drinking days
behind him.
The couple had no financial problems, Nancy Gresham said. But Misty's and
Torre's families say the two had a stormy marriage.
''He has a temper, and she is a big, big flirt,'' Nancy Gresham said.
''They argued,'' Misty's father, Clarence Perkins, said from Madisonville.
''They were both jealous of each other,'' and jealousy fueled most of their
arguments.
But Nancy Gresham said there had been no physical abuse between the two.
In more recent weeks, Torre had been working longer hours at the farm, and
Nancy Gresham booked a reservation at the Opryland Hotel so they could get away
for a while. The Normans checked in about 2:30 p.m. Friday, police said. At
Misty Norman's request, police said, hotel staff moved them from a second-story
room to the fifth floor.
About 8:30 p.m., Perkins said, Misty called home, crying and telling her mother
that she and Torre had been arguing. Misty told her mother that ''if she wasn't
back Saturday to call the law,'' Perkins said.
About 30 minutes later, police were called to Opryland Hotel to investigate
reports that two people had fallen in the Cascades atrium.
Now several families are trying to come to grips with the deaths. Misty
Norman's parents are caring for baby Victoria and Misty's older daughter, Jazz
Celeste Singer, 4. Torre Norman's two young sons, Brady and Gage, live with
their mothers.
Perkins remembers a daughter whose children and college courses filled her
days. Nancy Gresham recalls a good son and father who was loved by his family.
''I don't know,'' she said about what happened Friday. ''I guess God is the
only one that knows right now.''
Maggie
There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good
sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more -- Woody
Allen
Rick
>''I don't know,'' she said about what happened Friday. ''I guess God is the
>only one that knows right now.''
>
Sounds to me like God got it right when he sent him along.
Thanks for the followup Maggie.
--Rick
d~
wrote:
>I think the original story was posted here last week. From the Nashville
>Tennessean:
{snip}
>Now several families are trying to come to grips with the deaths. Misty
>Norman's parents are caring for baby Victoria and Misty's older daughter, Jazz
>Celeste Singer, 4. Torre Norman's two young sons, Brady and Gage, live with
>their mothers.
{snip}
The eldest daughter's name is JAZZ SINGER?! {speechless}!
d~