Craig Berry: Veteran accused of shooting wife found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot after dayslong manhunt in Tennessee, officials say
The manhunt for a special forces veteran accused of shooting his wife ended when his body was found Wednesday, the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said.
“Initial indications show he died due to a self inflicted gunshot wound,” the sheriff’s office said.
Craig Berry, 53, was wanted on suspicion of attempted murder after he attacked his wife at their Tennessee home and shot her as she tried to drive away on the night of April 30, the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said. His wife, who suffered a neck wound, has been released from the hospital, Sheriff Frankie Gray told CNN.
“We can confirm Craig Mark Berry is deceased and no longer a threat to the public,” said Christian Marrero, a spokesperson for the US Marshals Service, which had been working with the sheriff’s office in the investigation.
“The United States Marshals Service Middle District of Tennessee is proud to have assisted in the search for this violent criminal with our federal, state, and local partners,” he said.
Since May 1, deputies had scoured rough terrain around Berry’s home in Dover, near the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, considered “one of the largest contiguous blocks of undeveloped forest in the eastern United States.”
Berry’s specialized training and elite survival skills made him a formidable target, Gray told CNN. Officials also believed Berry had a cache of ammunition.
In addition to second-degree attempted murder, Berry also faced charges of attempted murder, domestic assault, aggravated assault and leaving the scene of an accident, court documents show.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Berry’s wife said her husband beat her and tried to strangle her shortly before midnight. She managed to get into her car, but Berry shot her as she fled, the wife told investigators.
Berry vanished into the nearby woods before deputies arrived and led authorities on an extensive manhunt through heavily forested terrain that included steep hills, snakes and ticks.
During the manhunt, Berry called his parents, who have cooperated with investigators, the sheriff said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
