Cabell County, West Virginia



From the Huntington Herald-Dispatch of April 20, 2004

Police name suspect in shooting death

(Headline refers to a second incident)



West Virginia State Police continued to investigate Monday two shootings that took place Sunday evening, one a homicide.



No charges had been filed or arrests had been made Monday in connection with the shooting death of Joseph Adkins, 26, of 5007 Doss Hill Road. He died from a fatal chest wound shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday at the home of 33-year-old Jeffrey Bradshaw, 5231 Long Branch Road. Bradshaw is a suspect in the case.



"We’re still going through all this," said Senior Trooper Mike Pardee of the state police. "It does appear this incident was domestic-related between a (current) boyfriend and the father of the girlfriend’s little boy (an ex-boyfriend)."



The shooting appears to have been the result of a disturbance in which a victim had been there earlier in the day, said Cabell County Prosecutor Chris Chiles. It appears Adkins came back, forced his way into the trailer and was shot after he made entry, he said.



"At this point, the investigation indicates there was no criminal act, that the shooting was done in self defense," Chiles said. "Just because somebody is killed, does not mean that it’s a crime."

But the investigation continues, he said.

No subsequent stories about this incident were found.