Tennessee deputy arrested woman found dead
Deputy arrested woman river crash.
Accident – Death – Obituary News :
CNN
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In a heartbreaking turn of events, a sheriff’s deputy and a woman he arrested have both been discovered deceased after officials revealed that the officer accidentally plunged his patrol car into the Tennessee River.
Robert J. Leonard, a deputy with the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office, made a distressing radio call on Wednesday indicating that he was en route to the local jail with an individual he had apprehended, as stated by District Attorney Russell Johnson during a news conference on Thursday. Subsequent to this call, Leonard failed to respond to a status check from dispatchers. The deputy’s final radio communication was a cryptic mention of “water,” which came shortly after he sent a text message to his wife detailing the arrest, according to Johnson.
A dive team located Leonard’s submerged vehicle in the river while conducting a search near a bridge at the deputy’s last known location, Johnson disclosed. Once the vehicle was retrieved from the water on Thursday, investigators found the lifeless body of Tabitha Smith, the woman Leonard had detained, covered in mud in the back seat, while the driver’s seat was unoccupied.
On Thursday night, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office announced that Leonard’s body had been recovered.
The district attorney expressed his belief that the tragic deaths were accidental, explaining that the deputy was unfamiliar with the area.
“We’re operating under the theory that it was an accident. He missed his turn,” Johnson stated on Thursday. “He wasn’t familiar and he was doing other things that may have caused him to go underwater. There’s skid marks and some scratch marks too. So there’s some indication that he was on the brakes, at least trying to stop … So it sounds like, you know, just an unfortunate accident.”
Meigs County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brian Malone revealed that Leonard, originally from New York, had only joined the sheriff’s office in December.
The Knox County Medical Examiner confirmed to CNN on Monday that the female discovered in the back seat of the vehicle was identified as Smith.
The nature of the charges against Smith that led to her detention remains unclear.
Friends fondly remembered Smith as a cheerful and outgoing 35-year-old mother of two, who was often known as “Tabby,” as per CNN affiliate WVLT.
“She was a happy person, outgoing, she loved life,” Smith’s friend Sheena Mchome recounted to WVLT.
“I could not imagine being trapped and knowing my life was going to end,” expressed Mchome.
Smith’s friend Emilie Neusel described her as having “a heart of gold, and despite any struggles and troubles she had, she was a great person,” according to WVLT.
“I hope they remember her by her name. Tabby Smith,” Neusel continued. “And I hope she’s remembered by more than (being) the girl in the back seat.”
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office announced on Facebook that there will be a funeral procession for Leonard on Tuesday.
CNN’s Chris Youd contributed to this report.
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– Tennessee deputy arrested woman found dead officer river
– Tennessee deputy woman dead crash river.
