Sunny Giordano, 18: Murdered By Her Boyfriend In Nashville In 2016
At 18 years old, Sunny Giordano had her entire life ahead of her. Not only did she have big plans for herself, but her family also expected great things from the teenager, even though she’d been in trouble with the law. Unfortunately, Sunny’s life was cut short before her dreams could come to fruition on a fateful day in 2016 after she was reportedly stabbed to death in a hotel room.
In March 2016, Sunny Giordano was reportedly arrested along with 21-year-old Jermaine Kimbrough for allegedly taking part in a three-week crime spree. Police stated that the pair stole a pickup truck and were involved in three break-ins and one attempted break-in before being caught. They faced burglary, theft, and weapons charges, and both Sunny and Kimbrough admitted to their participation in the robberies.
By April 2016, Sunny Giordano was back to posting selfies on Twitter, unaware that her life would be taken from her in just a few short months. On July 5, 2016, Sunny was with her boyfriend, 23-year-old Ben Bolton, at the Lotus Inn and Suites motel in Nashville. She was there to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday with a few friends, but things took a tragic turn. It’s unclear why police were initially called to the scene, but when they arrived, an officer reportedly saw a car running in the parking lot. Bolton was standing nearby, so the officer spoke with the young man, and during their conversation, Bolton admitted that there was a woman in his room who had been stabbed.
“My daughter was 18,” said Sunny’s father, Anthony Giordano. “She just turned 18… There’s always going to be that feeling of, ‘What could I have done?’ The guilt.”
Sunny and Ben Bolton had only been dating for one month.
When officers entered the motel room, they found Sunny’s body wrapped in a sheet inside of the bathtub. She had been stabbed in the throat. Later, Bolton would tell investigators that another man was responsible for Sunny’s murder. However, he claimed that he didn’t know the man’s identity. When police looked at the motel’s surveillance footage, they knew right away that Bolton wasn’t telling all he knew about the murder of Sunny Giordano.
Bolton later confessed to police that he was the one who wrapped Sunny’s body in the sheet, and he did place her in the bathtub, but he refused to take the blame for the killing. He was arrested and charged with criminal homicide and evidence tampering.
Anthony Giordano offered advice to young women who may want to chase after relationships or find themselves overly concerned with undeserving partners. “Know your worth,” the father said. “Know that you have to focus on yourself before a boy. Graduate high school. Become something. Go to college. Get your degree. Start your own business. Don’t worry about being validated by another person.”
Please share this story about Sunny Giordano to help raise awareness about domestic violence, and hopefully, we can help others learn these wise words from a grieving father. Sunny was our sister, and her life mattered.
