Saturday, November 26, 2011

LaRue County, KY: Kentucky State Police: Elizabethtown man killed himself after shooting wife, second man in LaRue County

Kentucky State Police investigate two pickup trucks abandoned on Heying Road, the scene of a shooting incident that left three people killed and one seriously injured in Larue County Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 near Sonora, Ky. (AP Photo/Brian Bohannon) / BRIAN BOHANNON/AP
Written by
The Courier-Journal
An Elizabethtown husband killed his wife and a Radcliff man on a rural road in LaRue County Tuesday, then fatally shot himself, Kentucky State Police said Friday.

David Walker, 51, shot his wife, Barbara Walker, 51, and Steve L. Bottoms, 55, on Heying Lane in LaRue County, about three miles east of Sonora and Interstate 65, police said.

Barbara Walker died from a gunshot wound to the chest and torso, police said. Bottoms, of Radcliff, died from a gunshot wound to the head.

The Walkers’ daughter, April M. Roberts, 32, of Elizabethtown, was shot in both her legs, police said. She was transported to University Hospital Tuesday after driving herself to an Emergency Medical Services office in Elizabethtown and was listed in fair condition Friday, hospital spokesman David McArthur said.

David Walker died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police said.

The shootings stemmed from a “domestic violence incident,” and police had responded to calls involving the Walkers in recent weeks, police have said.

Police are still investigating the exact cause and series of events that led the Hardin County quartet to being shot on a rural road surrounded by farms and small houses, said Master Trooper Norman Chaffins, a spokesman for state police in Elizabethtown, which is investigating the shootings.

State police detectives have not determined who shot Roberts, Chaffins said. Police said Tuesday that multiple guns were found at the scene.

Roberts has been interviewed by police and is cooperating with the investigation, Chaffins said.

An independent witness told police that David Walker shot his wife, Chaffins said. Other evidence, such as the position of the bodies, indicated that David Walker also shot Bottoms, he said.

On Tuesday, Police found an older-model Ford pick-up truck that was blocking Heying Lane, and a newer model Dodge that had stopped about 4 feet away. The Walkers were found on the ground and Bottoms was found in the passenger seat of his Dodge pick-up truck, Chaffins said.

The Ford pick-up was registered to Barbara Walker and the Dodge was registered to Bottoms, Chaffins said.

A Kia that Roberts drove to seek medical help was registered to a family member of David Walker, Chaffins said.

Autopsies were performed Wednesday, but police are still investigating and details of the shooting will not be available until forensics and final autopsy reports are given to police, Chaffins said.

Reporter Joseph Lord can be reached at (502) 582-4199.

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