A North Carolina woman was arrested for allegedly killing her ex-Green Beret husband – whose mutilated remains were found in a pond – after he asked for a divorce, according to police and reports.
Shana Cloud, 50, was booked Friday on first-degree murder and concealment of a death following a two-month investigation into the mysterious January disappearance of her husband, Clinton “Clint” Bonnell, 50, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
Court records show a woman identified as Bonnell’s girlfriend told deputies the former Army medic met with an attorney and talked to his wife about a divorce the night before he vanished, WNCN reported.
“My brother is a Green Beret and perfectly capable of taking care of himself,” Bonnell’s sister, Stefanie Firkins, told Dateline in February.
“There’s very suspicious circumstances surrounding his disappearance. He was completely enamored with medicine and excited about his career path. He would not walk away from his life and his school and his daughter.”
Bonnell – who retired in December after 20 years in the military and was studying to become a physician assistant – was reported missing on Jan. 28 when an employee at Methodist University in Fayetteville requested a welfare check when he failed to show up to class, police said.
Deputies located Bonnell’s car, book bag and other personal belongings at his house, where Cloud told authorities she last saw her husband the day before. Police launched an investigation after receiving a second wellness check request, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators executed multiple search warrants on the couple’s home, Cloud’s car, digital devices and rental house in Virginia to develop a timeline leading up to his disappearance.
Nearly a month later, on Feb. 25, police were alerted to a body missing arms and legs floating in a pond on Gainey Road, just three miles from the couple’s home, according to deputies.
“It looks like there might be part of a body floating out in the water .. I just got here about 10 minutes ago, [I was] just looking around and seen it,” a resident said in a 911 call, obtained by WRAL.
“It looks like it’s been there a while, there’s no legs or arms on it or nothing on it. … It’s in the middle of nowhere.”
DNA analysis confirmed the remains were Bonnell’s on Friday.
“Clint was an incredible human who sacrificed so much for others and dedicated his life to the betterment of this world,” his family said in a statement, WBTV reported.
“To be taken from us prematurely at the hands of evil will never be understood. All we can do now is pray for swift and just punishment for Shana Cloud.”
Cloud is being held without bond at Cumberland County Detention Center.
