Man faces charges in slaying of ex-wife

LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. - Police tracked their prime suspect in a weekend homicide to Kentucky and arrested him Monday without incident.

Police say 32-year-old Korbyn Shaw Ordway killed his 29-year-old ex-wife, Beverly Ordway, on Saturday and fled with their 4-year-old daughter to Kentucky.

The Ordways address is listed as 201 Jacobs Drive, Apartment C.

He is in custody at McCraken County Jail awaiting extradition on a charge of first-degree murder.

The little girl was unharmed and is staying with relatives.

Authorities sent Beverly Ordway's body to Nashville for an autopsy. Law enforcement officials would not pinpoint a cause of death, pending the autopsy report. That report is due by Thursday, officials said.

"There is no question it was murder - first degree," District Attorney General Mike Bottoms said. He declined to elaborate.

Police found Beverly Ordway dead in her bathroom just before 7 p.m. Saturday. In a news release, the department said "evidence in the residence suggested foul play."

Korbyn Ordway emerged as the primary suspect, but Lt. Anthony Nugent would not say how detectives arrived at that conclusion. Police did report that the victim's daughter and 2000 Honda Accord were missing. Nugent said that, to his knowledge, the couple did not have a history of domestic violence. He did say that Beverly Ordway appeared to have been struck at least once in the face. He did not know if Ordway had ever been arrested.

Bottoms said Ordway would not be charged with kidnapping because he did not attempt to harm the child. "He was making an effort to return the child to relatives when he was apprehended," he said.

Officers at the state and local levels, including the Tennessee State Bureau of Investigation and the Kentucky State Police, pursued Ordway to Paducah, Ky. He was arrested inside a Wal-Mart at 10:45 p.m. Monday after giving the girl to a relative.

"He hugged the child, then gave her to the aunt," Bottoms said. "She went to her car; he went into the store."

Ordway was not armed when he was arrested, but he apparently drove Beverly Ordway's Accord to Kentucky. Tennessee officials are getting a warrant to search the vehicle.

"To successfully apprehend this suspect without someone getting killed is tremendous," Bottoms said. "This was a dangerous and volatile situation."

Bottoms acknowledged that there are still unanswered questions surrounding the case.

"We've got a lot of investigating to do," he said. "Our concern has been on getting that child back and getting (Ordway) arrested."

Ordway should have an extradition hearing sometime next week, police said.

This is the second slaying in Lawrenceburg in the past 30 days. Police found 24-year-old Sherry Lynn Poag, 116 Maddox Town Road, lying in the street near her car July 29 near the intersection of Watson Drive and Windsor Avenue. She died Aug. 1 from a gunshot wound to the head. Police are investigating the case and are following some promising leads.

Jason Harris can be reached at 740-5757 or jason.harris@timesdaily.com.