CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Two defendants recently pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and facilitation of kidnapping for their involvement in the 2015 slaying of a Clarksville Army veteran.
The body of 30-year-old Melissa Sue Napier (Woodruff), a veteran who completed two tours in Iraq working as a chemical operations specialist, was found in a rural area of Palmyra in December 2015. Her death was ruled a homicide, but her cause of death is still unknown.
Plea deals
Jade Amanda Rose Breeden, 44, was charged in 2017 with first-degree murder in perpetration of a crime, two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, three counts of aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
On Tuesday, she entered a best-interest guilty plea to the lesser-included charge of second-degree murder and agreed to serve 23 years with the Tennessee Department of Corrections at 100% with credit for 769 days served.
The rest of the charges Breeden was facing – which included unrelated counts of drug and weapon possession from 2016 and 2015 – were dismissed as part of the plea, her attorney William F. Kroeger said in court.
Breeden’s co-defendant, 30-year-old Steven Wylie Taylor, was charged in 2020 with first-degree murder, first-degree murder in perpetration of a crime, two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping and three counts of aggravated kidnapping.
He pleaded guilty to the lesser-included charge of facilitation of aggravated kidnapping on Tuesday, and agreed to serve 10 years in prison at 35% with 1,265 days of time served credit before he can be eligible for parole. His other charges were dismissed as well.