CHP captain seen stealing dead husband’s dog from home of his girlfriend

By Jonathan Ayestas

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — Ring camera footage appears to show a California Highway Patrol captain, whose death is being investigated along with the murder of her husband, stealing his dog from the Tennessee home of his girlfriend.

Julie Harding, the CHP Yuba-Sutter commander, was found dead Saturday in her Tennessee home, two days after both she and the man accused of killing her husband, Michael Harding, were arrested for separate cases. The Murfreesboro Police Department said Julie was arrested for stalking and burglarizing the home of Michael’s girlfriend.

In October, the woman who was dating Michael filed two separate warrants for the arrest of Julie to Murfreesboro police. The first came on Oct. 10 when the woman caught Julie on her Ring camera.

The video, obtained by KCRA 3 on Wednesday, shows what appears to be Julie coming up to the front door of Mike’s girlfriend’s home and calling a dog’s name, Charlie, who was Mike’s dog. The woman took custody of the dog after Mike died. Documents from Murfreesboro police show Mike’s girlfriend told officers she was willing to give the dog to Julie if they met at a nearby police department. Video shows Julie grabbing the dog by the collar and leaving the home, which is when Mike’s girlfriend filed a report.

Julie had worked with CHP since 1999 and became a commander of the Yuba-Sutter division in 2018. It is unknown if someone shot Julie or if the gunshot wounds were self-inflicted, officials said.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said it helped Kentucky authorities arrest Thomas Francis O’Donnell at the Sacramento International Airport in connection with Michael’s death. He now awaits extradition back to Kentucky, where Michael was found shot and killed in September.

Kentucky State Police said Wednesday that troopers and detectives responded to a home on Glasgow Road in Burkesville, Kentucky, on Sept. 26 and found Michael’s body inside.

Authorities have not said what they believe a motive is for the killing, but O’Donnell has a criminal history. Read more about that here.

KCRA 3 has not confirmed a connection between Julie Harding and O’Donnell.

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