Tyree Tichion Corley
A man told police he jumped into the Tennessee River to escape from robbers who killed his wife at Renaissance Park early Sunday morning, July 16.
Tyree Tichion Corley, 22, of 3810 Sherwood Lane, has been charged with felony murder and especially aggravated robbery in the fatal shooting of Kathy Hardy. Corley is in custody at the Hamilton County Jail.
Shawn Hardy said he and his wife were on a pier at the downtown park when they were approached by three black males who demanded all of their belongings.
He said a tall, light-skinned black male with a goatee brandished a firearm and fired three shots.
He said he went over the rail to the pier, but his wife was shot. He said he swam to shore and alerted a security guard.
Police and emergency personnel searched by land and water for a lengthy time before finding the body of the victim on the pier. Police got the call at 12:35 a.m.
Mr. Hardy said the shooter was wearing shorts that came down to his knees.
Police were told that three black males fled from the park in a "brisk" and "determined" walk towards Cherokee Boulevard and Manufacturers Road.
Surveillance video from nearby businesses captured the three black males walking from where the witness lost sight of them to the parking lot of the Business Development Center on the corner of Manufacturers Road and Cherokee Boulevard.
They got into a waiting vehicle that had been sitting with all lights turned off across the street.
Police said it was discovered that a vehicle possibly used during a recent robbery on North Market Street, less than a mile from where the murder occurred, was the same make, model and color as the vehicle that picked up the three black males at the park.
Police said a potential suspect in that incident, Corley, fit the description that Shawn Hardy gave of the shooter.
He picked Corley out of a photo lineup.
Chattanooga Police officials said they appreciate the assistance they received from law enforcement partners at the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, Hamilton County District Attorney's Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in making the arrest.
The Hardys have two sons, Michael and Brandon.
Her funeral service was held in Huntsville, Ala.