By Charlie Passut | Tidewater News
Published Sunday, June 13, 2010
Photo by Charlie Passut
.
FRANKLIN — An estranged husband is in jail, accused of killing his wife and wounding her uncle during a domestic disturbance that spiraled into a hostage situation lasting several hours Saturday.
Charles Steinert, 36, was transferred to the Western Tidewater Regional Jail in Suffolk on Sunday morning. According to a jail official, Steinert is charged with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of assault. He is being held without bond and is scheduled to make an initial court appearance Monday.
Steinert could reportedly face additional charges of use of a firearm and malicious wounding.
Franklin Police Lt. Tim Whitt said Steinert surrendered to authorities without incident at 6:30 p.m., nearly six hours after police first responded to the scene at 200 Southampton Road.
Charles Steinert
Virginia State Police 1st Sgt. Tricia Powers said Sunday that police entered the house after Steinert surrendered and found the body of 37-year-old Tammy Jo Steinert. Powers said additional details about the slaying would be available following an autopsy, which will be performed at the medical examiner’s office in Norfolk on Monday.
Powers said Franklin police were called to the scene at about 12:30 p.m. for a reported robbery. When officers arrived, they found Joseph Wise, 46, of Franklin in a neighbor’s yard with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Police then determined that Steinert was armed and in the house with his wife and two girls, whom Powers declined to identify. One of the girls is believed to be a daughter of Steinert.
According to Powers, Wise was airflifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition Sunday.
Powers said the incident remained under investigation Sunday by the State Police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation. BCI detectives and Southampton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Cooke were at the scene late Saturday.
As the standoff unfolded Saturday afternoon, a tactical unit of the State Police surrounded the one-story house with Charles Steinert barricaded inside. A video camera could be seen on a tripod pointing out the back door of the house, presumably to alert the gunman of police approaching from the rear.
Powers said a State Police negotiator was in contact with Steinert for more than four hours. Whitt said the girls were released unharmed at 4:13 p.m. Powers said she didn’t know whether Steinert knew that the girls were in the house from the beginning of the hostage drama or had discovered them later.
Powers said authorities recovered a weapon from the scene but had no details about the type of gun. Whitt said it was a handgun.
Joe Russell, Tammy Jo Steinert’s father, said at the scene Saturday that the couple had been married for 10 years but that Steinert was violent toward his daughter.
“We had a protective order put against him on April 6,” Russell said.
Whitt said police were familiar with Steinert because of previous domestic disturbances, but he said those incidents did not involve weapons.
“We have had dealings with him before,” Whitt said.
Jeff and Lisa Stevenson of Franklin, who said they were friends of Steinert, were near the scene after he surrendered.
“He was usually very friendly, very quiet,” Jeff Stevenson said.
Said Lisa: “But apparently something snapped in his head and he lost his marbles.”
No comments:
Post a Comment