BOONES MILL, Va. – Whitey Taylor said he woke up Wednesday night to the sound of his dog, Sybol, barking.
“My dog started barking. Somebody had knocked on the door and I thought it was my wife,” said Taylor. “So I called her on the phone and she said ‘I’m not out down there.’”
He quickly knew something was wrong and thought someone was trying to break into his home right behind the Trump Store in Boones Mill.
“I grabbed my gun. Some guy comes to my bedroom window. I thought he knocked both the windows out, but he just knocked one pane of the glass out,” said Taylor
It wasn’t until Thursday morning that Taylor learned what had happened.
“I found out he was just looking for a place to hide. He had already killed his grandmother,” said Taylor.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said 30-year-old Dominic Novia is charged with second-degree murder.
His alleged victim is 70-year-old Mary Ann Cook. Authorities said she was shot and killed in her home on the 6000 block of Bethlehem Road.
Deputies said Novia took off towards a nearby convenience store.
Employees, who didn’t want to talk on camera, told 10 News that Cook was Novia’s grandmother and that she raised him. They said she was a sweet woman and they never expected Novia to do anything like this.
“I just really regret this happened to his family member. That anyone would get in that state of mind to do something like that is terrible,” said Taylor.
Court records show Novia has a long criminal background. Charges include assault and battery, assault on a law enforcement officer and drunk driving.
Taylor said what happened is a tragedy.
“Oh, it’s terrible. It’s terrible. It’s unimaginable. You see it happening all the time in other areas but you don’t expect it in your area,” said Taylor.
Novia is being held at the franklin county jail without bond.