Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Couple Enters Not Guilty Plea In Murder Of Son’s Fiancé
A Wayne County couple accused of murdering their son’s fiancé entered not guilty pleas during preliminary court proceedings Tuesday morning.
Steven Ray and Sylvia Beersdorf were arrested on charges of first degree murder last week in connection with the disappearance of twenty-one-year-old Rose Goggins. Goggins resided with them in their Beech Creek home, along with their eleven-month-old grandson. The child’s father is Steven Beersdorf, Jr., who is stationed in Mississippi and scheduled to deploy to Iraq on February 6.
The Beersdorfs reported Goggins missing on Saturday, January 16; two days after they said she disappeared on her way to an EMT class in Lawrenceburg. Goggins’ car was found Friday, January 15, abandoned and burned beyond recognition along a logging road in rural McNairy County. There was no sign of Goggins.
Continued investigation in the case lead authorities to discover that Goggins was, in fact, deceased. Steven Ray Beersdorf, 46, and Sylvia Beersdorf, 43, were each subsequently jailed under the murder charges. The couple is being held without bond at the Lawrence County Jail.
The search is continuing for Goggins’ body, which authorities indicate may have been dumped into the Tennessee River. The search is centered upon the area lying between the Interstate 40 and Clifton Bridges in the Clifton area.
During court proceedings an attorney was appointed to represent the couple. Preliminary hearing in the case is expected to be held either later this week or early next week.
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