Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Bath County, KY: Murder - Suicide In Bath County

Tragedy struck the small community of Salt Lick in Bath County just before 8 a.m. Tuesday in the form of a murder-suicide between a man and a woman on Old Midland Trail.

State Police say Richard Spillman followed Valerie Stevens to the home where Stevens is a part-time nurse. The elderly couple who live in the home, Patsy and Lee Russell, were there with another nurse who heard fighting outside. When the Russells nurse went outside, they saw Spillman and Stevens fighting. Spillman was holding Stevens against a wall, and Stevens yelled for help. When the nurse went inside to call police, three shots were fired.

State Police say Spillman shot Stevens and then shot himself.

Both Spillman and Stevens were pronounced dead at the scene. Although investigators don't know why the two were arguing, State Police say they used to be in a relationship and even lived together at one time.

Stevens was 43-years-old and from Morehead. She had been working as a caretaker nurse for the Russells for the past three years. "She seemed real sweet, she was just married about a year ago and seemed so happy," says Patsy Russell. "I mean why would someone do that to someone and just take his own life? It's heartbreaking. So many people that knew her that she worked with loved her. She will be greatly missed."

Both bodies were taken to Frankfort for an autopsy.

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