Police: Man drowned ex-girlfriend in bathtub

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A man charged Wednesday with homicide in his ex-girlfriend's death told a friend he had drowned her and Clarksville Police arrived at her home to find her dead in a bathtub, according to an arrest warrant.

Demetris Merriweather, 33, was arrested Wednesday, a day after he drowned 38-year-old Capitolla Cross, according to the warrant.

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He was arrested last month on an aggravated assault charge after Cross told police that he choked her to the point that she couldn't breath. The assault ruptured blood vessels in her eyes and she was hospitalized for a few days, according to that warrant.

Merriweather was charged in the March 7 attack on March 19 and released on $2,500 bond a day later. On March 29, Judge Ray Grimes issued a bench warrant for his arrest for failure to appear in court. Among the conditions of his release, he was ordered to stay away from Cross and not commit any other offenses against her.

But according to the arrest warrant, Merriweather and Cross lived together.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday, an officer with the Clarksville Police Department was flagged down by a citizen who said that there might be a woman drowned in her home.

Police went to the home for a welfare check and found Cross partially clothed and dead in a bathtub.

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A homicide investigator spoke to a witness who said Merriweather called at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

"During that phone conversation, Demetris Merriweather told the witness that he killed (Cross) and that she was in the bathtub," the warrant states.

The warrant does not say what motive Merriweather may have had to kill Cross.

On Wednesday, the CPD put out a news release asking for the public's help to locate Merriweather. He was found the same day and booked into the jail on criminal homicide and aggravated assault charges. He was ordered to be held without bound.

Chlorisa Newsome, Cross's best friend for 19 years, said Cross was legally separated from another man and dated Merriweather but had ended that relationship.

"She broke up with him over a month ago," Newsome said. "He was jailed for beating and choking her until he popped the blood vessels in her eyes. He bonded out and he wouldn't leave her alone. She told me that she was afraid of him."

But Newsome wants her friend to be remembered for more than the way she died. Cross had a daughter and four sons between the ages of 4 and 18, and was looking forward to seeing her oldest son graduate from high school.

"She was the kind of friend that would give you her last," Newsome said. "She always put a smile on your face. She was full of life."

Follow Stephanie Ingersoll on Twitter: @StephLeaf