| Share it

ADVERTISEMENT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As  Holly Bates, Channel 8 news anchor, reported a gruesome but zany double-homicide story to thousands of viewers in and around Nashville Wednesday evening, the 32-year-old journalist did all she could to keep from bursting with laughter over the madcap and outlandish circumstances that left two dead on the city’s west side.

While explaining just how a gun could become lodged in such a strange area of one’s body, Bates, who rarely reacts to a story unprofessionally, almost began laughing out loud.

“I know my voice quivered when I got to the phrase ‘he began to extricate the weapon,’” said Bates, a newscaster for more than seven years. “If that wasn’t bad enough, I was positive I was going to cry with laughter when ‘reportedly began running away with his victim still attached’ came scrolling down the teleprompter.”

Despite keeping her relative cool throughout the story, Bates admitted she lost all control when she sent the newscast to a commercial break. “I just kept asking, ‘How did the bullet even get there?’”

The news anchor was not alone in finding the report humorous, as many of the show’s crew members left the studio midway through the bizarre murder story and could be heard faintly in the background laughing.

“Well, I was fine until [Bates] said ‘making matters worse was the assailant’s missing leg,’” said camera operator Phil Bingham. “It makes me laugh even now thinking about how it all could even happen inside of a Sears dressing room.” 

Send this story to a friend