A South Fentress County man with ties to Cumberland County — who authorities said drove his dead wife’s body through several Middle and East Tennessee counts — made his first appearance in court since being arrested.
Nathan Allen Wilson, 31, Banner Springs Road, Jamestown, last Tuesday appeared before Warren County General Sessions Judge Ryan J. Moore. The 31st Judicial District Public Defender’s Office was appointed to represent Wilson.
Moore commented on the issue of bond, “The key consideration in any Tennessee bail hearing is the safety of the community. Nathan Wilson’s disregard for human life and the law are evident by his actions,” the Southern Standard newspaper reported.
Moore then set bail at $5 million.
Wilson, who has family in the northern area of Cumberland County, is charged with the Jan. 17 or 18 death of his wife, Amber Wilson, 44, who died from blunt force trauma consistent with being struck by a vehicle.
Wilson told authorities the death was an accident and that he accidentally ran over his wife during an argument as the couple returned home from a late night trip to Middle Tennessee.
An abandoned 2013 Ford Explorer believed tied to the case was recovered abandoned on Plateau Road in Cumberland County and may have been the vehicle used in the incident.
Deputies in Fentress County found Amber Wilson’s body in the back of a Jeep Renegade at the Banner Springs Road address when they responded to a disturbance call.
At that time, Wilson was charged with abuse of a corpse in Fentress County. It is expected that charge will be dropped because Warren County authorities later charged Wilson with criminal homicide, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse in McMinnville.
District Attorney General Chris Stanford — during the hearing last week — told Judge Moore Wilson’s actions were brutal and that Wilson had “taken great steps to conceal his crime,” the Southern Standard reported.
Wilson’s next court appearance is set for 1 p.m. Feb. 19.