Police believe they’ve caught the killer of a Rockwood woman whose honeymoon turned deadly.
The husband of 36-year-old Cassandra Petry is charged with her stabbing death.
Brian Umphry, 34, is charged with first-degree murder and is being held in the Sevier County Jail on a $1 million bond, according to the Sevier County Sessions Court.
On Monday night, authorities found Ms. Petry stabbed to death in a Pigeon Forge motel where the couple had been celebrating their second marriage to each other, Police Chief Jack Baldwin said.
The couple were first married in 2007 and then divorced, according to the Knox County Clerk’s office. They married again on Dec. 31 in Knox County, records show.
Authorities did not give a possible motive for Ms. Petry’s death.
The investigation began when Ms. Petry’s sister called the Pigeon Forge Police Department, asking for an officer to check on her at the Day’s Inn, Chief Baldwin said. Her sister was worried because she hadn’t heard from Ms. Petry in 24 hours.
About 11:30 p.m., officers found Ms. Petry’s body in the motel room, the chief said.
Officers began searching for Mr. Umphry but the Athens, Tenn., Police Department finally captured him Tuesday afternoon, he said.
“I was on the phone with Chief (Chuck) Ziegler, the police chief in Athens, and he said, ‘We’ve got your boy,'” Chief Baldwin said.
Chief Ziegler said his officers were tipped that Mr. Umphry was in McMinn County driving his wife’s sport utility vehicle and they spotted him soon after.
When Mr. Umphry tried to escape in the SUV, officers chased him down Interstate 75 and forced him off the road at the Riceville exit, Chief Ziegler said.
Officers held Mr. Umphry at the Athens Police Department until he was taken back to Pigeon Forge, the chief said.
“The McMinn County Sheriff’s Office and Athens Police all went way above and beyond helping us locate him,” Chief Baldwin said.