HENRY COUNTY, Va. – UPDATE
The Henry County Sheriff’s Office is providing more information on one of the two separate killings in Henry County this weekend.
Recommended Videos
Authorities said around 1:13 a.m. Sunday, they received a report of the second killing, a man who had been stabbed at Scrub Board Laundromat located at 2034 Rives Road in Ridgeway.
We’re told deputies responded to the scene and found the victim lying on the floor with an apparent stab wound to his neck. Henry County Public Safety responded and provided life-saving measures, but the victim succumbed to his injuries.
The sheriff’s office said the victim was identified as William Rumley, 47, of Martinsville.
Through the course of the investigation, authorities say another man entered the laundromat and had a conversation with a woman who was already inside. According to authorities, the suspect did not know her and tried to talk her into giving him her phone. They say Rumley got between the two, and the two men got into an argument. The suspect then stabbed Rumley in the neck, then fled the property on foot.
We’re told the suspect was also injured and was bleeding heavily from the incident.
The suspect then traveled to Fairy Street in Martinsville, and was involved in a domestic altercation, according to authorities.
Martinsville Police responded to the domestic situation, and upon their arrival, they located the suspect, who was still bleeding heavily. Authorities said the responding officers recognized the man as the suspect from the homicide on Rives Road. The Martinsville Police Department took the suspect into custody without incident.
Kenneth Tatum, 30, of Martinsville, was charged with first-degree murder and was taken to the Henry County Adult Detention Center, where he is held without bond.
This investigation is ongoing, anyone having information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 276-638-8751 or Crimestoppers at 63-CRIME (632-7463). The Crimestoppers Program offers rewards up to $2,500 for information related to crime. The nature of the crime and the substance of the information determine the amount of reward paid.
ORIGINAL STORY
Two men are dead after two separate killings in Henry County over the weekend.
The first happened Saturday evening.
According to Henry County Sheriff Wayne Davis in an interview with BTW 21, the Martinsville-Henry County 911 Center got a call on Saturday just after 8 p.m. that someone had been shot at a home in the 4500 block of Irisburg Road in Axton.
Deputies responded and found the victim dead inside the home. They encountered another man who told investigators that he shot the victim. The suspect was taken into custody.
Authorities have not identified the suspect at this time.
Initial investigations show that it was a domestic incident. The sheriff said it’s too early to say what charges may be filed.
The second incident happened just after 1 a.m. on Sunday. According to Henry County Sheriff Wayne Davis in an interview with BTW 21, the Martinsville-Henry County 911 Center got a call about a stabbing at the Scrub Board Laundry Number 2 on Rives Road in Henry County.
Responding deputies found a man dead inside.
Sheriff Davis said the entire incident was captured on surveillance video. Investigators said the victim was inside washing his clothes and a woman entered the laundromat.
A third person then entered the laundromat and started harassing the woman and tried to steal something from her.
That’s when the victim got in between the two to defend the woman and the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed the man to death. The suspect then ran away.
According to BTW 21, the suspect was arrested a few hours later on Fairy Street.