North Carolina Woman Charged with Murder After Husband’s Remains Found in Pond

Miami Standard (Cumberland County, NC) – A woman has been charged with murder after her husband’s remains were discovered in a pond in North Carolina, more than two months after he was originally reported missing.

According to a press release posted on Facebook by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Shana Cloud, 50, was arrested on Friday, March 28, for the murder of her husband, Clinton “Clint” Bonnell, also 50.

Bonnell was first reported missing after an employee at Methodist University contacted to conduct a wellness check on him on Jan. 28. He was training to become a physician assistant at the institution and had missed his class that morning, which was uncommon for Bonnell, a former Green Beret.

According to the sheriff’s office, Cloud informed deputies who arrived at the couple’s house that she hadn’t seen her husband since January 27.

Deputies discovered Bonnell’s automobile, along with his school bag and other belongings, still at the house. Later that evening, one of Bonnell’s pals called 911 to request another well-being check for him.

The sheriff’s office then released a statement indicating that Bonnell was last seen near Gray’s Creek, a Fayetteville suburb, on January 27.

Bonnell was stationed at nearby Fort Bragg before retiring from the military in December, according to The Fayetteville Observer.

Bonnell’s sister, Stefanie Firkins, later told NBC News that her brother’s absence was “out of character” for the veteran and loyal family guy, who was serious about his studies.

“He was completely enamored with medicine and excited about his career path,” she said. “He would not walk away from his life and his school and his daughter.”

By January 31, the homicide team had executed a search warrant on Bonnell’s home, and one day later, investigators and Virginia State Police officers investigated Cloud’s home in Troy, Va., according to CBS affiliate station WNCN.

Over the next month, investigators gathered digital evidence from Bonnell’s phone and other devices to construct a timeline of events leading up to his disappearance.

According to the sheriff’s office, a body was discovered in a pond on Gainey Road in Fayetteville on February 25, roughly three miles from Bonnell and Cloud’s home on Butler Nursery Road.

Because the body had deteriorated, deputies gathered DNA samples, and on March 28, the North Carolina State Crime Lab determined that the remains belonged to Bonnell, according to the sheriff’s office.

On March 28, investigators apprehended Cloud. She was charged with first-degree murder and concealing the death. Although the sheriff’s office has not provided much information regarding the reason, WNCN received a search warrant indicating that Bonnell was allegedly intending to divorce his wife.

According to WNCN, a woman named in court filings as Bonnell’s girlfriend informed investigators that he met with a lawyer on the morning of Jan. 27 to begin the divorce proceedings. She also told detectives that Bonnell contacted her that night, shortly after reportedly informing his wife that he was going to divorce her.

Cloud is now being held at the Cumberland County Detention Centre, with her first court appearance scheduled for Monday, March 31.