ELKINS, W.Va. — Witnesses to a shooting in Elkins Monday told officers during the investigation they were being harassed by the victim shortly before he was shot and killed at the Heavener Acres Trailer Court.
Melvin Phillips Jr., 62, was charged with murder after he admitted to shooting Mark Wirth, 67.
A witness told police Wirth had threatened them with a knife. When the witness told Phillips he was going to notify the manager of the property, Phillips told him he would handle it himself. At that time, Phillips retrieved a firearm from his residence and shot Wirth, police allege.
While officers rendered aid to Wirth, they did find a small knife near his head.
Police said the murder weapon was found on a trash can lid near a shed.
While being questioned, Phillips said there was an argument and that Wirth was harassing another person on the property before the shooting.
Phillips is being held without bond in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.