Wife Charged in Latest Army Base Killing
The wife of an Army special operations officer has been charged in his shooting death in the latest in a string of domestic violence cases that have shaken Ft. Bragg.
Joan Shannon, 35, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the July 23 fatal shooting of Maj. David Shannon, 40.
“We believe financial gain is one of the primary motives of the crime,” police Lt. Tom Guilette said Wednesday. He did not elaborate.
Shannon’s slaying is the fifth domestic-related slaying linked to the base since June 11. Four Ft. Bragg wives have been killed, allegedly by their husbands, and Ft. Bragg officials say they are looking at the cases to determine if the stress of military life was a contributing factor.
Joan Shannon told police she awoke to gunshots about 3 a.m. and saw an intruder, and followed him from the bedroom down a hallway. She was unable to give police a description.
Police arrested Shannon based on evidence at the scene and “admissions and omissions that were given” during the investigation, Thompson said.
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