CELINA, Tenn. – The body of a commander with the California Highway Patrol was discovered dead in Tennessee just days after a male suspect was arrested in the shooting death of her husband in Kentucky, according to investigators.
CHP Captain Julie V. Harding, 49, was found dead Saturday, Dec. 10, at a home in Celina, Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Her husband, Michael Harding, 53, who was living in Celina, went missing and was later found shot and killed. Authorities did not disclose how she died but said that no foul play was involved, KTLA reported.
Michael Harding went missing in September. His body was found Sept. 26 in a home in Burkesville, Kentucky, near the Tennessee line. Michael Harding had been shot to death, according to Kentucky State Police.
The homicide investigation was conducted by Kentucky State troopers, Tennessee authorities, and the FBI. The suspect was identified as Thomas O’Donnell, 60, of Napa, California. He was arrested Dec. 8 and charged with the murder of Michael Harding, according to the Kentucky State Police.
O’Donnell was taken into custody at the Sacramento airport, according to online booking records of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. He remains jailed in California and is awaiting extradition to Kentucky to face the murder charge, Kentucky State Police said.
Two days before her body was found, Julie Harding was arrested for trespassing at a residence in Tennessee. She was released shortly after the arrest, according to media reports.
CHP issued a statement saying that Harding was on leave at the time of her death. She has been employed by the agency since 1999. She served as the commander of the Yuba Sutter area office since 2018, KTLA reported.
An autopsy of Julie Harding’s body will be conducted in Nashville.
