BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — A Morgan County man will spend the rest of his life in prison after being sentenced Wednesday in connection with a triple murder.
Erick Shute, 35, was found guilty in the June 2016 murders of three men in the Valley High Timber Farms subdivision. Jack Douglas, Travis Bartley and William Bartley Jr. were shot to death over an ongoing dispute with Shute. Police said Shute ambushed them. He claimed he shot them in self-defense.
A Morgan County judge sentenced Shute to three consecutive life prison terms with no chance for parole. He also was sentenced to additional years after convictions on attempted murder and firearms charges.
Shute’s family said they plan an appeal.