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Westover Police vehicles are parked outside Doug's Towing in Westover, W.V., Monday, after three separate shootings left four people dead.(Photo: Ben Queen, AP)
A man suspected in the shooting deaths of four people in West Virginia was found dead Monday night, police said.
A manhunt had been underway in northern West Virginia near Morgantown after four people were fatally shot in three attacks Monday morning.
State police spokesman Lt. Dennis Johnson says 39-year-old Jody Lee Hunt of Westover was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot Monday evening in a wooded area in the southern part of Monongalia County. He was found with his pickup truck.
State police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous said the attacks took place Monongalia County, in the Cheat Lake and Westover areas. Westover is on the west side of the Monongahela River, across from Morgantown.
Baylous said Sharon Kay Berkshire, 39, of Westover, and Michael David Frum, 28, of Maidsville, were among those found dead early Monday.
Officials said they would not release further information Monday night. Baylous said investigators from three jurisdictions involved in the case will "sit down and piece all those puzzle pieces together and find out how this all happened.''
Police were searching for Jody Hunt, of Westover, W. Va., in connection with the slayings of four people at three locations.(Photo: West Virginia State Police)
According to Monongalia County Circuit Court records, Berkshire filed a domestic violence case against Hunt last month, Associated Press reported.
State documents indicate Hunt is owner of J&J Towing and Repair LLC of Westover. A call to the business went unanswered Monday afternoon.
Ellen Shafer, Frum's aunt, confirmed his death but said she knew few details. She said Frum worked as a car detailer and odd jobs.
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."
Area schools were placed on lockdown, but West Virginia University in nearby Morgantown said there was no immediate threat to the campus. Classes resumed Monday following the Thanksgiving break.
"The incident is not associated with WVU nor did it occur on or near campus," the university said in a news release.
Contributing: Michael Winter, William M. Welch, USA TODAY; Associated Press
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