Michael Harding, 53, of Celina, Tennessee, was found dead inside a vacant house on Glasgow Road in Burkesville, Cumberland County, Kentucky, on September 26, 2022. Kentucky State Police investigators determined Harding died of multiple gunshot wounds. The home was for sale and Harding had no known connection to the property; his pickup truck was last seen on camera on September 20, six days before his body was found.

The probe expanded across state lines to Tennessee and California and involved the FBI. On December 8, 2022, 60-year-old Thomas Francis O'Donnell of Napa, California, was arrested at Sacramento International Airport while about to board a flight to Tennessee and charged in Harding’s murder. Court filings allege a murder-for-hire scheme involving Harding’s estranged wife, Julie Harding, and claim phone records show frequent calls between her and O'Donnell prior to the killing. Prosecutors have indicated they intend to seek the death penalty.

If anyone has information about Harding’s movements in Kentucky in September 2022 or about contacts at the Burkesville property, please share what is known.