The gunman in three shootings that killed four people in West Virginia on Monday morning was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, State Police said.
Jody Lee Hunt, 39, of Westover, was found Monday evening in the woods in the southern part of Monongalia County, located in the north-central part of the state. Two of the shootings happened in the Westover area and the other was in the Cheat Lake area, both in Monongalia County, authorities said.
State Police spokesman Lt. Dennis Johnson said Hunt's body was found in "a power line right of way" around 7 p.m. Officials said they would not release further information Monday night.
On Tuesday, investigators at each of the three crime scenes will "sit down and piece all those puzzle pieces together and find out how this all happened," State police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous said.
WAJR.com reported that Hunt made a Facebook post that indicated he was having relationship problems with a woman.
“I poured out my heart to her only to be maniupulated as to what I could give her," the post said, according to WAJR.com. “Life is short. It’s not all games. Don’t play a game with ones heart.”
He continued: “My actions were not right nor were the actions of those who tried to tear me down and take from me. This was not the plan but a struggle to see that those who strives to hurt me received their fair pay of hurt like I received.”
Baylous had identified the two victims from the Cheat Lake shooting as 39-year-old Sharon Kay Berkshire, of Westover, and 28-year-old Michael David Frum, of Maidsville. Doug Brady, of Westover, who owned a local towing company, was identified by WAJR.com as one of the victims in the Westover shootings. The fourth victim was not immediately identified.
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WVMetroNews.com said the shootings appeared to be aimed at specific victims. According to Monongalia County Circuit Court records, Berkshire filed a domestic violence case against Hunt last month. Court records also indicated there were no protective orders currently in place for Berkshire.
As a precaution, all schools in Monongalia County were placed on lockdown Monday afternoon, Westover police Sgt. M. Starsick said.
“In no way, shape or form have the schools been involved in this incident,” he told The Charleston Gazette.
West Virginia University in nearby Morgantown said there was no immediate threat to the campus, and classes resumed Monday following the Thanksgiving break.
State documents indicate Hunt owned J&J Towing and Repair LLC of Westover. Calls placed by The Associated Press to the business and Hunt's home went unanswered Monday afternoon.
Frank Brown lives in a house behind the towing company's lot. He said normally the lot is busy in the early morning but there was no such activity Monday.
The towing company's front door was padlocked, although the lights inside and an elaborate security system with TV monitors were turned on.
Arlene Barnett of Westover said she was drinking coffee at her home when she heard four gunshots shortly after 10 a.m. at a nearby trailer where one of the victims lived.
"I didn't pay any attention to it because I thought, oh heck, it's deer season," Barnett said. "I thought they were deer hunting. I just went about my business and didn't connect anything. Then I heard the sirens."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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