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Auto Death Linked To Shooting
A vehicular death and a shooting death last Saturday near the Shade Road were related, Sheriff John Henry Woodward said August 20.
Robert Palmer Abell, 28, of Silver Spring, Maryland was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:50 p.m. on Route 622 near the Shade Road. He had been shot in the neck, according to Sheriff Woodward.
Lucius Bethea, 25, of Washington, D. C., was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:55 p.m., also on Route 622, .7 mile north of Route 621, according to State Trooper R. A. Baines. Bethea was driving a 1973 Chevrolet Suburban at a high rate of speed, failed to negotiate a curve and struck a tree, Trooper Baines said.
According to the sheriff, both men were helping the Abell man’s parents move into a home on Route 622, between Rock Mills and Route 211, before the incidents occurred.
They left together in the Suburban, which was registered to Abell. Following their departure, Woodward theorizes they drove one-quarter mile, while Bethea shot Abell, pushed him from the vehicle, then proceeded toward Route 211.
Bethea then was fatally injured when he struck a tree, totaling the Chevy Suburban, Trooper Baines said.
A .357 magnum, found in the Suburban, is believed to be the murder weapon, although Sheriff Woodward declined to confirm this before ballistics tests were completed.
According to Trooper Baines, it is not yet known if alcohol or drugs were involved. Autopsy reports “won’t be back for several days,” he said.
Trooper Baines said wine bottles were found at the scene, but appeared to be part of a crate that was being moved to the Abell residence.
No motive for the shooting was apparent, according to the sheriff. Another man who had traveled to the residence with Abell and Bethea told the sheriff they had been having fun with no cross words. Sheriff Woodward declined to release the name of the third man.
In regard to the motive, Sheriff Woodward said: “I don’t think we’ll ever know. Only two were involved; both are deceased.”
• Joint Public Hearing Tonight
Rappahannock’s Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors will hold a joint public hearing August 23 at the courthouse in Washington at 7:30 p.m.
The supervisors and planners will consider amending from 150 to 75 feet a rear-setback requirement of the 1973 Zoning Ordinance. The joint session was scheduled by the supervisors during their regular meeting August 6. , ,
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