By Robert Wilson
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
RICEVILLE, Tenn. - Pigeon Forge police are expected to charge an Athens, Tenn., man in connection with the stabbing death of his wife in a motel room where the couple had gone for their honeymoon.
Brian L. Umphrey, 34, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on Interstate 75 near the Riceville exit by officers with the Athens Police Department following a daylong manhunt.
Umphrey is a resident of Athens and is suspected in the slaying of Cassandra M. Petry, 36, who is believed to have lived in Rockwood.
Petry's body was found in the Days Inn on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge about 11:30 p.m. Monday after the woman's sister called police to request they check on her. She told authorities she had not heard from her sister that day as she had expected.
Officers who went to the motel room found Petry's body, with apparent stab wounds.
A manhunt immediately began for Umphrey. Pigeon Forge investigators went to McMinn County on Tuesday to help search for the man, according to Jack Baldwin, Pigeon Forge police chief.
The couple, who had recently remarried, were on their honeymoon at the motel, Baldwin said.
Chuck Ziegler, Athens police chief, said his officers fanned out across an area of the county after the department received a tip that Umphrey might be nearby.
Authorities expected Umphrey to be driving Petry's 1999 Dodge Durango. The vehicle was spotted going south on I-75 in mid-afternoon, Ziegler said, and it was pulled over at the Riceville exit.
Umphrey was arrested without incident, Ziegler said.
McMinn County authorities, including Sheriff Steve Frisbie, say Umphrey has a lengthy record there, including charges of assault, burglary, resisting arrest and evading arrest.
Robert Wilson is a freelance contributor to the News Sentinel.
By Robert Wilson
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
RICEVILLE, Tenn. - Pigeon Forge police are expected to charge an Athens, Tenn., man in connection with the stabbing death of his wife in a motel room where the couple had gone for their honeymoon.
Brian L. Umphrey, 34, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on Interstate 75 near the Riceville exit by officers with the Athens Police Department following a daylong manhunt.
Umphrey is a resident of Athens and is suspected in the slaying of Cassandra M. Petry, 36, who is believed to have lived in Rockwood.
Petry's body was found in the Days Inn on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge about 11:30 p.m. Monday after the woman's sister called police to request they check on her. She told authorities she had not heard from her sister that day as she had expected.
Officers who went to the motel room found Petry's body, with apparent stab wounds.
A manhunt immediately began for Umphrey. Pigeon Forge investigators went to McMinn County on Tuesday to help search for the man, according to Jack Baldwin, Pigeon Forge police chief.
The couple, who had recently remarried, were on their honeymoon at the motel, Baldwin said.
Chuck Ziegler, Athens police chief, said his officers fanned out across an area of the county after the department received a tip that Umphrey might be nearby.
Authorities expected Umphrey to be driving Petry's 1999 Dodge Durango. The vehicle was spotted going south on I-75 in mid-afternoon, Ziegler said, and it was pulled over at the Riceville exit.
Umphrey was arrested without incident, Ziegler said.
McMinn County authorities, including Sheriff Steve Frisbie, say Umphrey has a lengthy record there, including charges of assault, burglary, resisting arrest and evading arrest.
Robert Wilson is a freelance contributor to the News Sentinel.
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