Suspect in Deputy Bonham's Murder Waives 14-Day Preliminary Hearing

WEAKLEY COUNTY (February 20) — A preliminary hearing that was originally scheduled for Friday, February 20, 2026 in the first degree murder of a Weakley County Sheriff’s Deputy has been waived and postponed until a later date.

The suspect, Khristi Dawn Cunningham, 44, from Stark County, Ohio, has waived the 14-day requirement for her preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing has not been dismissed but will be reset at a later date.

According to court documents, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has been subpoenaed as a witness.

The case remains in the preliminary stage, and a hearing will still be held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to move the case forward.

A new court date has not been announced yet.

Case History

During the cold early morning hours of January 30, 2026, Weakley County Sheriff’s Deputy Derrick Bonham was shot and killed while responding to the scene of a 911 call at the Days Inn in Martin, Tenn. At the request of 27th Judicial District Attorney General Colin Johnson, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) special agents began investigating the on-duty homicide of the Weakley County deputy and announced the arrest of Khristi Dawn Cunningham (DOB: 12/14/81).

The arrest warrant stated, “The undersigned affiant, after being duly sworn according to the law, states that Khristi Dawn Cunningham whose name is otherwise unknown to the affiant, committed the offense of T.C.A. 39-13-202 in the above [Weakley] county on or about January 30, 2026.

“Further, affiant makes oath that the essential facts constituting said offense, the sources of affiant’s information, and the reasons why his/her information is believable concerning said facts are as follows:

“On 01/30/2026 at approximately 0252 hours, Khristi Dawn Cunningham utilized the Weakley 9-1-1 Call System to call in a “shots fired” call at the Days Inn (800 University St, Martin, TN) while firing a shot from a pistol at or near the Days Inn parking lot. Shortly thereafter, Cunningham drove to the parking lot of Pocket’s convenience store (821 University St.) and positioned herself in a location to observe Martin Police Department officers’ arrival at the Days Inn. During this time, Cunningham continued calling 9-1-1 and hanging up. Law enforcement personnel were able to utilize the GPS location of Cunningham’s cell phone, which placed her cell phone at or near Pocket’s convenience store. Subsequently, Weakley County Sheriff’s Deputy Derrick Bonham arrived at Pocket’s and parked beside Cunningham’s vehicle. When Deputy Bonham made contact with Cunningham, she was on a call with 9-1-1. When the call ended, Deputy Bonham asked Cunningham to exit her vehicle. According to Deputy Bonham’s body-worn camera, Cunningham exited her vehicle, produced a pistol, and immediately shot Deputy Bonham. Cunningham shot Deputy Bonham three more times while Deputy Bonham was incapacitated on the ground. Cunningham then fired two more shots in the direction of Martin Police Department officers who were in the parking lot of the Days Inn. Deputy Bonham died as a result of Cunningham premeditatedly and intentionally shooting him. This incident did occur in Weakley County, Tennessee.”

Derrick, age 37, is survived by his wife, Nicole Bonham of Greenfield, and three children, Harper, Hayden, and Hudson. He also leaves behind his mother, Bertha Bonham; father, John Bonham; brother, John Boy (Cynthia) Bonham; nephew and niece, Daniel and Frankie; in-laws, Troy and BeLynda Jones; uncle, Jerry Armes; and grandmother-in-law, June Neblett.

Bonham’s funeral was on Monday, February 2, 2026, at 2 p.m. at the Greenfield School Gymnasium. Burial was in Highland Cemetery in Greenfield.

Suspect’s History

Khristi Dawn Cunningham is from Stark County, Ohio and worked for the Ohio Corrections Department, according to Northwest Ohio news media.

According to News5 of Cleveland, she worked as a manager at Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility and as a corrections officer for the State of Ohio.

Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility is in Massillon. A neighbor told News5 she saw law enforcement outside Cunningham’s Canal Fulton home on Saturday (after the shooting) but there hasn’t been anyone at Cunningham’s home for a couple of weeks.

News5 reported that 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.

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, according to News5.

According to the Canton Repository, Cunningham and her husband were described as Akron residents when they were featured in a 2011 ABC News story about having Black and White twins.