NC Green Beret was shot multiple times in the back, dismembered with saw, autopsy reveals
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The murder of former North Carolina Green Beret, Clinton 'Clint' Bonnell, remains an active investigation. His accused wife, Shana Cloud, remains in the Cumberland County Detention Center in Fayetteville.
As the investigation continues, ABC11 has learned that Bonnell was shot multiple times. The NC Office of the State Medical Examiner (OCME) released the new details. The Autopsy was done on Feb. 26, a day after Bonnell's torso was found in a Cumberland County pond, nearly a month after he was reported missing.
*Warning details below are graphic*
According to the autopsy, Bonnell was shot four times in his upper and lower back. The report says each bullet exited through his chest area. The report states that the torso found weeks after his death was unclothed.
No bullets or bullet fragments were recovered, the autopsy states.
The report goes on to say that there are signs of dismemberment from a mechanical saw. Bonnell's head, arms and legs are still missing. The medical examiner's offices said they were able to positively identify Bonnell from DNA they sent to the Armed Forces, since he was a former Green Beret and Fort Bragg.
The NC OCME has ruled the death a homicide.
Based on the autopsy findings and the circumstances surrounding the death, as currently understood, the cause of death is listed as multiple gunshot wounds. Given the presence of dismemberment, the absence of the majority of the internal organs, and the state of decomposition, additional traumatic injuries that may have contributed to death cannot be excluded; however, the injuries.
ABC11 Eyewitness News has reached out to Bonnell's girlfriend and the Cumberland County District Attorney's Office for more information.
How missing class became a murder investigation
Clinton "Clint" Bonnell was reportedly last seen in the Gray's Creek area of Cumberland County, North Carolina, on Jan. 27. Bonnell was a student at Methodist University and enrolled in the Physician Assistant Program.
When he failed to show up for class on Tuesday, Jan. 28, an employee at the university called the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office around 2:58 p.m. and requested a well-being check on Bonnell at his Fayetteville home on Butler Nursery Road. The caller, who is a Program Director at Methodist University, said Bonnell missed all of his classes for the day.
Deputies said they talked to his wife, Shana Cloud, who allegedly told them she hadn't seen Bonnell since the day before (Jan. 27) at Fit 4 Life. Officers noted that his car and car keys, watch, workout bag, reading glasses, and other personal items were still at the house.
According to the search warrant, Cloud told officers she went to Fit 4 Life at 1 p.m. and he arrived around 1:55 p.m. She said as they left the gym in separate cars, and he stated that he was going to Methodist University to study for a test, which was scheduled for the next day. Cloud says she doesn't recall him returning home and when she awoke in the morning, his car was there, but she was unable to find him.
The search warrant says Cloud declined to file a missing person report on Bonnell.
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Later the same day, the sheriff's office says they received another call, around 9:19 p.m., requesting a welfare check on Bonnell. The call was made by his girlfriend, who followed up with a missing person report. The case was then assigned to their Major Crimes Unit. On Jan. 30, the case was reassigned to the Homicide Unit.
From North Carolina to Virginia
Documents state that on Feb. 1, detectives went to Virginia and, with assistance from the Virginia State Police, executed search warrants on Cloud's vehicle, rental property, and cell phone. Evidence relevant to the investigation was collected and brought back to Cumberland County.
Multiple search warrants were obtained and executed for digital data, including but not limited to cell phone records, video footage, digital devices, etc. The data collected was analyzed and used to develop a timeline of events not only surrounding Bonnell's disappearance but also his whereabouts before his disappearance.
Police haven't revealed why Cloud was in Virginia and how they learned her whereabouts.
What the Pond Exposed
On Feb. 25, the sheriff's office received a 911 call about human remains in a body of water in the 4200 block of Gainey Road. The caller said there was a body in the pond, but it didn't have any limbs.
Because of the condition of the remains, an immediate identification was not possible. DNA from the remains was sent to the North Carolina State Crime Lab who created a profile. That DNA profile was then sent to the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES) to be compared with the DNA on file for the former Green Beret, Clint Bonnell.
Wednesday, Feb. 26, nearly a month after he was reported missing, search warrants were executed in Cumberland County while investigators waited on the DNA results of the body found in a pond.
Missing Investigation to a Murder Investigation
Two months after his disappearance and a month after a body was found in the pond, on Friday, Mar. 28, the AFMES confirmed that the DNA collected from the torso was that of Bonnell.
His wife Shana Cloud was then arrested and charged with first-degree murder and concealment of a death.
She remains in the Cumberland County Detention Center. Her attorney says she's innocent.
Motive to Murder
The Cumberland County District Attorney says the pending divorce could have possibly been a motive. The DA's office believes Bonnell was killed a day after he went to a lawyer's office to seek a divorce.
He had allegedly told his girlfriend he was preparing to end his marriage and that he had also told his wife.
The arrest affidavit states that Bonnell's cell phone records show he did come to the couple's home the night of Jan. 27 and did not leave that location.
An investigator says, "preliminary autopsy results show Bonnell was shot multiple times," and "Cloud secretly disposed of Bonnell's remains."
Where is the rest of Bonnell's body?
During her March 31 court appearance, gruesome details were released about Bonnell's body. Billy West, the Cumberland County District Attorney, said that only Bonnell's torso was found. The whereabouts of his arms, legs and head are still unknown.
Investigators also say they have video evidence of Cloud in the area where Bonnell's torso was recovered.
This was the last time he was seen alive.
Investigators say they believe Cloud shot and killed her husband the next day inside the couple's house.
'I want you to know that Mrs. Cloud is innocent and looks forward to her day in court," Cloud's attorney, James Macrae Jr., said after her first appearance.
ABC11 News will continue to follow this case and update you with the latest as it happens
You can watch our half-hour stream-only special, Green Beret Murder: What Happened to Clinton Bonnell?, wherever you stream ABC11.
In the documentary, you'll learn more about Bonnell from his sister, who first spoke to ABC11 days after he disappeared. You'll also hear from his girlfriend, one of the last persons he talked to.
