Julie Harding: CHP captain found dead 3 months after husband was killed in suspected murder-for-hire plot

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CELINA, TENNESSEE: A California Highway Patrol captain was discovered dead in Tennessee over the weekend, only one day after being arrested on suspicion of stalking her estranged husband and days after another man was arrested on suspicion of his murder.

Julie Harding, 49, was discovered dead on Saturday, December 10, from a single gunshot wound close to the driveway of her home in Celina, according to KPIX. Although the police claimed there were no signs of foul play, it is as yet unconfirmed whether she committed suicide. Julie's husband Michael Harding was reported missing in September 2022 but was subsequently discovered dead in an abandoned home in Cumberland County, Kentucky, from numerous gunshot wounds. Sheriff Brandon Boone stated that Michael, who lived and worked in Clay County, Tennessee, went missing and was discovered dead in a vacant house, as reported by CBS. He was unknown to have any relation to that home.

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The Kentucky State Police are looking into Michael Harding's death as a possible homicide. Boone stated a suspect in his murder was arrested in California. Just days before Harding's body was discovered, officers arrested Thomas Francis O'Donnell at Sacramento International Airport on a murder charge in connection with Michael's death.

O'Donnell is still detained in the Sacramento County Main Jail and has waived his right to an extradition hearing to Kentucky, according to KCRA 3. In 2006, the 60-year-old O'Donnell was arrested for stalking and threatening to kill an ex-girlfriend in the Houston region. The victim claimed that he threatened to kill her after their breakup in 2005.

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O'Donnell was charged with pushing, choking, and forcing the woman to have sex with him, besides harassing her at her workplace and pursuing her with his car over the course of about a year, according to court records. Although O'Donnell was charged, he was later released on probation.

Authorities have not revealed a possible motive that connects O'Donnell to Michael's death. However, a close source told KPIX that Michael's death was a part of a "murder-for-hire plot" involving Julie.

Documents from the Tennessee-based Murfreesboro Police Department reveal that the Hardings were going through a divorce. California Highway Patrol Valley Division Sgt Jeremy Weyland stated that Harding had been a police officer since 1999 and a commander since 2018, as reported by CBS.

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