WINFIELD, W.Va. — A man who engaged in a gun battle with Putnam County Deputies early Saturday morning is now behind bars and the woman he was living with has taken her own life.
Murry Knox, 64, was released from CAMC Teays Valley Hospital on Sunday after he suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder in an exchange of gunfire with deputies. Knox barricaded himself inside the home in Winfield back on Friday night and refused to give up for ten hours before the sheriff’s department used tear gas to try and force him out. Knox responded with gunfire, which was returned by deputies outside the home in Winfield’s Shawnee Estates Subdivision.
“He had a couple of DUI arrests a couple of years back, but nothing current,” said Putnam County Sheriff Steve Deweese. “I think it just goes back to an emotionally and mentally distraught person. Unfortunately he was injured. All he had to do was come out of the house with no gun and we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Knox was discharged from the hospital and arraigned on several charges Sunday by a Putnam County Magistrate. He faces charges of domestic assault, domestic battery, attempted arson, and seven counts of malicious assault on a police officer. He’s lodged in the Western Regional Jail in lieu of $500,000 cash only bond.
Investigators say the incident started Friday night when Knox threatened his girlfriend, with whom he lived in her house. She told investigators he put candles in the oven in an attempt to set fire to the home and slapped her to the floor and put a gun to her face when she tried to remove them. The woman managed to escape and call 911 prompting the confrontation with police.
Family members say the woman took her own life Sunday at the same home where the incident occurred. Relatives say the two had been involved in a relationship since the woman’s husband died about six years ago and it had been violent at times.
“We were not called to any domestic disturbances prior to Friday night,” said Deweese. “There was admitted abuse emotionally and physically, but that was the first time we were ever called to the scene of it.”
State Police continue their investigation into the incident. The sheriff estimated the exchange of gunfire lasted around ten minutes and included a large number of rounds discharged, but the exact count is unknown. Knox was armed with two .45 caliber pistols during the incident. None of the deputies were hit by the gunfire. Department policy requires them to remain on administrative leave and seek counseling. Deweese indicated three of his deputies are now in that process.