A Stark County woman who worked as a manager at Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility and as a corrections officer for the State of Ohio was charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a Weakley County deputy, about 140 miles west of Nashville, early Friday, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
Investigators identified 44-year-old Khristi Dawn Cunningham as the shooter who killed Weakley County Sheriff's Deputy Derrick Bonham.
A spokesperson for TBI said Bonham was looking for witnesses to a shots-fired call when he came across Cunningham.
The sheriff said the deputy spoke to Cunningham, who then shot the deputy, got out of her SUV, walked over to Bonham and shot him again.
Bonham was taken to a local hospital, where he died, TBI said. No other officers were injured.
Investigators have not released a motive for the shooting, but the sheriff said Cunningham was staying at a nearby motel where witnesses first reported hearing gunshots.
TBI said police at the scene took Cunningham into custody.
A neighbor told News 5 Investigators she saw law enforcement outside Cunningham's Canal Fulton home on Saturday.
She said there hadn't been anyone at the home the last couple of weeks.
The neighbor said Cunningham worked at Indian River in nearby Massillon.
According to records from the State of Ohio State Personnel Board of Review, Cunningham filed a complaint alleging a violation of the state's whistleblower protection.
In the 2021 filing, it identified Cunningham as an operations manager for the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
The Board dismissed Cunningham's appeal.
An ODYS spokesman has not responded to phone messages and an email about Cunningham's employment with the state.
A spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Corrections said Cunningham worked as a corrections officer at Richland Correctional Institution from December 2023 until she resigned in September 2025.
Investigators in Tennessee charged Cunningham with first-degree murder.
She's being held without bond.
