Clarksville, TN: Soldier Faces Charges; Wife Found Shot To Death

Clarksville Wife Killed; Soldier Arrested
Suspect Arrested In Robertson County After Running From Police

Reported by Carley Gordon
POSTED: 8:11 am CDT September 8, 2009
UPDATED: 5:54 pm CDT September 8, 2009
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- A soldier faces a criminal homicide charge after his wife was found shot to death early Tuesday.
Related: 5 p.m. Report | Noon Report
Clarksville police said Sena Marie Downing, 25, was killed at a home near the corner of Autumnwood Boulevard and Hazelwood Road.
Police said a welfare check was done at the home at 3:17 a.m., and that's when the body was discovered. It was unclear why this occurred so early in the morning.
Police issued an alert for a gray Ford Explorer with a Kentucky tag and Fort Campbell decals. The vehicle was later found in Robertson County.
The vehicle turned up in Robertson County where the police also found Jonathan Clyde Downing, 31, hiding in the woods. Police used officers on foot, K-9s and a helicopter in the search.
Police talked with him for a couple of hours before arresting him without incident at around noon.
Clarksville Police spokesman Jim Knoll said officers then transported Downing to the Montgomery County Jail to be booked. Knoll did not know whether Downing had obtained a lawyer.
Jonathan Clyde Downing is a Calvary Scout in the U.S. Army who has been deployed twice to Iraq, including once with the 101st Airborne Division.
It was unclear how long the couple was married, but a neighbor said they called police last week because the Downings were fighting.
Downing has been charged with criminal homicide.
Copyright 2009 by WSMV.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.
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