Wife accused of killing Green Beret husband whose remains were found in a pond

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (TCN) -- Authorities recently arrested a woman on suspicion of killing her missing husband, whose remains were found in a pond last week.

According to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, on Jan. 28, an employee at Methodist University requested a welfare check on Clinton Bonnell, who was in the school’s physician assistant program but failed to attend class that morning.

Deputies responded to his home, where Bonnell’s wife, Shana Cloud, said she hadn’t seen her husband since the previous day. Investigators located Bonnell’s vehicle, school bag, and other belongings at the residence.

One of Bonnell’s friends reportedly called later that evening to make another welfare check request, and a missing person investigation was launched.

Investigators executed search warrants at the home and for digital data, which provided a timeline of events surrounding the victim’s disappearance. On Feb. 25, an individual called the sheriff’s office to report human remains found in a body of water on Gainey Road. According to WRAL-TV, the reporting party indicated that the victim had been dismembered.

The sheriff’s office said authorities obtained the victim’s DNA and sent the remains to the North Carolina State Crime Lab. On March 28, investigators identified the victim as Bonnell. That same day, the sheriff’s office arrested Cloud in connection with her husband’s death.

Cloud faces charges of first-degree murder and concealment of death. She was booked into the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond.

Bonnell’s school, Methodist University, said in a statement, "Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time. We’re a close-knit community with an abundance of care for each other, which makes a loss like this all the more sorrowful for us all."

The victim was reportedly a Green Beret, an elite Special Forces unit in the U.S. Army.

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