During the early years of their inquiry into the assault and murder, the police persisted in investigating one particular suspect, finally charging him in 1979 but he was released in 1980 for lack of evidence.

In 2008, 33 years after the killing, Jerome Sydney Barrett – not the person police had pursued in the 1970s – was charged with Trimble's assault and murder after DNA evidence recovered from her remains linked him to the crime.

Police attention soon focused on Jeffrey Womack, a 15-year-old boy who lived near the Trimble home and one of the last people to see her alive.

Inside the pockets, police found a half roll of pennies, a five-dollar bill, and a condom.

According to Womack, his mother and a neighbor found out that the police were questioning him and insisted that any further interrogation must be done with a lawyer present.

Reporter Demetria Kalodimos believed that Womack's decision to call a lawyer made police more suspicious of him.

Unable to obtain a confession, the police resorted to other means to try and gather evidence against Womack.

In 1980, authorities finally arrested him for Marcia Trimble's murder, but the charge was dismissed for lack of evidence.

Just minutes earlier, Maxwell had parked her car in front of a neighbor's driveway to ask a quick question.

If Jeffrey Womack was home during that time, or if he was at Peggy Morgan's house, he could have seen Maxwell's car and called to Marcia.

[3] The three investigators' theories varied widely, but they concluded that whoever killed Marcia most likely was a juvenile who lived in the neighborhood.

On June 6, 2008, a Davidson County Grand Jury indicted 60-year-old Jerome Sydney Barrett, charging him with first-degree murder and felony in the case of Marcia Trimble.

[5][6] Barrett first took responsibility for the 1975 murder during a private conversation on the rooftop of the Davidson County Criminal Justice Center.

"[citation needed] Barrett once again claimed to have killed Marcia immediately after he had had an altercation with another jail inmate.

Journalists revealed that, for more than a decade, investigators had concealed the fact that DNA evidence excluded numerous neighbors as potential suspects.

In addition, detectives admitted to careless handling of Marcia's body, stating that they simply cut her blouse and pants off in the shed without wearing protective gloves.

Residents were upset by the fact that the victim was a child, and that the crime took place in an affluent neighborhood.

Each year, Nashville media highlighted the story on the anniversary of Marcia's disappearance or of the discovery of her body.

The case marked a time of great change in how news was covered by local media, and in the emerging importance of DNA evidence (not well understood in earlier years).