About this project
THE PROJECT: The Toll is the only comprehensive public database covering all Chattanooga homicides that have occurred since 2011. The ongoing project includes details for each case, links to news coverage and the location of each death. Here, anyone can learn the identities of Chattanooga's homicide victims, discover how they died and how their cases played out in court. The Toll offers a glimpse into the far-reaching impact of homicide, and the toll that the continuing violence exacts on Chattanooga.
THE PHOTOS: Photos of the men, women and children who have been killed in Chattanooga come from a variety of sources. Most photos are submitted by family or friends of the victim, but if a submitted photo is not available, The Toll uses a police mugshot. If no photo can be found, a gray placeholder image is used. Family and friends are encouraged to submit a photo of their loved one through The Toll’s Submit a Photo page.
THE SCOPE: The Toll uses data from the Chattanooga Police Department to track homicides in the city. The police data contains both justified and non-justified homicides.
Legally, homicide is defined as the killing of one person by another. Murder is defined as the unlawful, premeditated killing of another person.
Murder is one type of criminal homicide, but not all homicide is criminal. Some cases are justified. Such justified homicides are marked with a special note on the victim's profile page.
The Toll currently includes homicide data dating back through 2011. New data on ongoing cases is entered each month.
THE STAFF: The Toll is managed by crime reporter Rosana Hughes, courts reporter Zack Peterson and web producer Ken Barrett. The site was designed and created by Shelly Bradbury, Lin Parker, Mary Helen Montgomery, Maura Friedman, Ken Barrett and Matt McClane.
