Man convicted of brutal Giles County murders denied parole

GILES COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Prosecutors say a man whose crimes have haunted Giles County since the 1980s has been denied parole.

Pat Bondurant will continue serving 90 years for two murder convictions. His twin brother, Pete, who is also linked to the crimes, was released a decade ago.

Pat will stay locked behind prison bars for now. In December 2025, he was denied parole on two murder convictions.

He and his twin, Pete Bondurant, are infamous in Giles County.

“You mention the Bondurant in Giles County, and anybody that has lived there for any length of time has heard about them,” District Attorney Brent Cooper said.

Prosecutors said the brothers were convicted of killing a woman, Gwen Dugger, at their home in 1986 and disposing of her body in the Elk River.They were both sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Investigators then linked Pat to a second murder, accusing him of beating his coworker, Ronnie Gaines, to death with a rocking chair during a game of cards.

Pete allegedly helped dismember the body. Prosecutors said the brothers also set fire to Gaines’ home after the murder.

“The way they describe the Bondurants, they’re gasoline and a match,” Cooper said. “Separate, they’re harmless, but put the two together, and you’ll have problems.”Pat was originally sentenced to death for Gaines’ murder but was granted a new trial in 1999 and sentenced to 65 years.At his recent parole hearing, prosecutors said he was quiet.

“He acted [as if] he didn’t have an understanding of what was going on,” Cooper said. “How much of that was legitimate or how much was him trying a different tactic this time? Who knows?”

News 2 spoke to Gaines’ family off camera, and they said he was a well liked man who didn’t deserve this.