FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — An autopsy has revealed the cause of death for the Cumberland County Green Beret who
went missing in late January.
Clinton “Clint” Bonnell, 50, was last seen Jan. 27, before his body was found
in a pond on Feb. 25, behind a home on Gainey Road in Cumberland County. The pond was just three miles from Bonnell’s home.
An autopsy from the North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office gives insight into what may have happened before Bonnell’s death.
The autopsy: Gunshot wounds and dismemberment
The autopsy lists Bonnell’s cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds, all of which struck him in the back.
The first shot entered through his upper back, the second and third through the middle of his back, and the fourth through the lower right of his back.
The autopsy said no bullet or bullet fragments were recovered from any of the wounds.
DNA testing was used to identify Bonnell, and according to the report, he had been dismembered in addition to being shot.
“Evidence of dismemberment included absent head and extremities with no associated tissue reaction,” the report reads.
The investigation: A long, winding road
The investigation began as a missing persons case, but evolved over time into something much more.
Bonnell was a Green Beret who, according to his sister, Stefanie Firkins, who spoke to CBS 17 in February, retired from the service in December of 2024. From the moment he disappeared, Firkins believed something had happened to him.
“I do not believe he disappeared on his own accord. My brother is definitely not suicidal,” Firkins said just a few days before the body was discovered. Firkins was not the only person concerned about Bonnell.
CBS 17 obtained search warrants in March that revealed Fit 4 Life on Owen Drive in Fayetteville was the last place Bonnell’s wife, Shana Cloud, saw him on Jan. 27. She told Cumberland County investigators they left in separate cars and he was going to Methodist University to study for a test.
Bonnell was enrolled in classes at Methodist University in Fayetteville. On Jan. 28, after he missed several classes and could not be contacted, the university requested a wellness check be done on Bonnell. In addition to the university, Bonnell’s girlfriend also requested that a wellness check be done.
Bonnell’s girlfriend worked near the gym where he was last seen, and according to her, he planned to divorce Cloud shortly before he disappeared. She told investigators he went to an attorney that day to discuss filing for a divorce. He then visited her workplace to discuss the conversation he had with the attorney before going to Methodist University to study.
Deputies said Cloud declined to file a missing person report at that time. An incident report listing Bonnell as missing was completed by his girlfriend.
On Jan. 30, according to officials, the investigation was reassigned to the the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit. Deputies returned to Bonnell’s home and found his bookbag and laptop. Both had projectile damage, suggesting Bonnell might have been harmed.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies traveled to Virginia. With the assistance of the Virginia State Police, they executed search warrants on Cloud’s vehicle, rental property, and cell phone. Warrants were also obtained for digital data, such as cell phone records, video footage, and digital devices to develop a timeline of events surrounding Bonnell’s disappearance and his whereabouts before he disappeared.
After the search warrant was executed on Cloud, she admitted she had a confrontation with Bonnell regarding a note from his girlfriend.
After he was identified by deputies, warrants were obtained for Cloud’s arrest and she was charged with first-degree murder and concealment of death.
According to court documents, Cloud was given no bond
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