By DEREK HODGES

Staff Writer

PIGEON FORGE — An Athens man is behind bars after authorities say he murdered his wife on their honeymoon.

Brian Lyn Umphrey, 34, was arrested shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday near Riceville on charges he murdered Cassandra Maya Petry, 36, of Rockwood, in a room at the Days Inn at 2760 Parkway in Pigeon Forge. He was expected to be transported to Sevier County Jail later Tuesday, authorities said.

According to Pigeon Forge Police Chief Jack Baldwin, authorities received a call late Monday from Petry’s sister, who became worried after she didn’t hear from her sibling that day. When police entered the third-floor room the couple was sharing at about 11:30 p.m., they found Petry dead apparently from stab wounds.

Umphrey, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found. That prompted a massive manhunt covering several counties in East Tennessee after law enforcement officials received a tip he may have returned to the Athens area in Petry’s 1999 Dodge Durango.

The search covered most of the day until a sergeant with the Athens Police Department spotted the vehicle headed south on Interstate 75 near the Riceville exit. Umphrey was apprehended without incident and was transported back to Sevier County late Tuesday to await trial on murder charges.

“We know he did it,” Baldwin said. “He was in the room. She was his wife. He disappeared suddenly. There are a lot of circumstances we have here and some of them we just can’t really talk about right now, but this fellow will be charged with murder. I’m just not sure what degree at this point. It would be hard for us to prove premeditation unless he admits it.”

Baldwin confirmed Umphrey has “some domestic violence history” and said there are warrants for his arrest outstanding in McMinn County on unrelated charges. He previously faced charges in Athens and McMinn County, including burglary, assault, and evading and resisting arrest.

This was the second time Umphrey and Petry had been married, Baldwin said. Knox County clerk’s office documents show the couple secured a marriage license there at the end of January before coming to Sevier County for their honeymoon four days before Petry was found dead.

dhodges@themountainpress.com