Army veteran accused of shooting wife found dead during manhunt: Authorities

(STEWART COUNTY, Tenn.) — An Army Special Forces veteran accused of trying to kill his wife then fleeing into the woods was found dead, likely from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said Wednesday.

Craig Berry, 53, went into the woods near his home in Dover on May 1 after allegedly shooting his wife, according to the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident sparked a dayslong manhunt involving assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the sheriff’s office said.

“During search today, Stewart County Sheriff’s Office SWAT, along with TBI agents, located the body of wanted subject Craig Berry,” the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Initial indications show he died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

The U.S. Marshals also confirmed Wednesday that Berry is dead “and no longer a threat to the public.”

Deputies responded to a domestic altercation at his residence around 1:30 a.m. on May 1, and Berry was gone before deputies arrived, authorities said. His wife was transported to a medical facility, according to the sheriff’s office, which did not provide details on her condition.

He was wanted for attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a weapon, domestic assault, and leaving the scene of an accident, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which had added him to the state’s Most Wanted list earlier Wednesday.

Berry was an Army Special Forces veteran with “extensive military training,” according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which on Tuesday had also issued a wanted bulletin for the suspect.

He had “extensive training in survival tactics,” the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said, and had warned that it could be a “lengthy process” to capture him.

Berry was last seen alive in the wooded area near Old Paris Landing in Dover on May 2, according to the U.S. Marshals.

He was armed with “at least one handgun” and may have taken extra ammunition, Stewart County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Paulette Redman said in a statement on Monday. He was captured by a trail camera wearing camouflage clothing, the sheriff’s office said.

The U.S. Marshals Service was offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information on Berry, while the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was offering $2,500.

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