A man believed to be a Chesterfield County resident suspected of killing his wife was found dead yesterday in the James River after he apparently leaped from the Pocahontas Parkway bridge.

The body, which has not been positively identified, was found shortly before 1 p.m. after a Virginia State Police search and recovery crew detected an object underwater with a sonar device.

Authorities at the scene said they believe the body is that of Walter Eugene Moorman, 41, of the 3500 block of Oregon Oak Drive in Chesterfield's Meadowbrook area. His remains were taken to the state medical examiner's office for positive identification.

The body was recovered about 75 feet from the shoreline near where authorities suspect Moorman jumped from the bridge, which rises about 175 feet above the James just east of Interstate 95.

Moorman's blood-stained pickup truck was found early yesterday parked at the top of the bridge. Bloodstains also were found on a concrete barrier that serves as the bridge's wall.

Police are investigating whether Moorman committed suicide after killing his wife, Lonna R. Gregory-Moorman, 37, who was found dead about 6:20 a.m. in a bedroom of the couple's home.

Investigators said Lonna Moorman had been stabbed and showed signs of blunt force trauma to the head. Her cause of death will be determined by the state medical examiner's office.

The victim's sister discovered her sibling dead in her bedroom, which had been locked, said Chesterfield police Capt. Paige Foster. The sister and her two children, who lived out of state, had been staying for an extended period with the Moormans and their two children, Foster said.

When police responded to the home, Moorman's whereabouts were unknown. He failed to report to work yesterday morning.

Authorities began to piece together what happened after toll authorities for the Pocahontas Parkway discovered an abandoned pickup on the bridge crossing the James and notified state police. A trooper was dispatched and found blood in the vehicle, said state police Sgt. Lee Elliott.

Elliott, dive leader for the Richmond region's state police Search and Recovery Team, was called to assist in searching the river below the bridge for a body. The Henrico County Division of Fire's Search and Rescue Dive Team was also called, and both teams arrived about 8 a.m.

Dive operations started about 10:30 a.m. State police, operating a boat with side-scanning sonar, trolled the river and began looking for images on the bottom that divers could check, Elliott said.

About 12:55, after the sonar crew detected an object, Henrico divers went to that spot and found the body near where authorities believed Moorman had jumped, Elliott said.

"I would say the side-scan sonar actually pinpointed it," said Capt. Daniel Schwartz, who leads Henrico's dive team.

Schwartz said it's highly unlikely that Moorman survived the fall.

"It's like jumping off a six-story building and hitting concrete," the captain said.

Chesterfield police described Gregory-Moorman's slaying as domestic-related.

Foster said police have no record of domestic violence at the house, although authorities did receive a prior 911 call of some type in the past. The couple's residence is in a neighborhood just north of Chippenham Parkway between Defense Supply Center Richmond and Meadowbrook Country Club.

The homicide is Chesterfield's seventh of 2008, which is three shy of the 10 homicides recorded in 2007.
Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or mbowes@timesdispatch.com.