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State police gather at at residence in Cheat Lake, W.Va., area where two of four shooting victims were found.(Photo: Ron Rittenhouse, Dominion-Post, via AP)
A West Virginia towing company owner who was found dead in his pickup had twice been the subject of a protective order filed by one of four people he is accused of killing in a shooting spree Monday.
Jody Hunt, 39, killed his ex-girlfriend, two men with whom she had romantic relationships and the owner of a rival towing company, police said Tuesday.
Hunt, of Westover, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a wooded area near Westover about 12 hours after the shootings. Police had issued an alert for his black Ford F-150 truck.
Police identified the victims as Sharon Kay Berkshire, 39; Michael David Frum, 28; Jody Taylor; and Doug Brady, owner of a towing company located less than a quarter-mile from Hunt's company.
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State Police Lt. Michael Baylous and Monongalia County Sheriff Kenneth "Al" Kisner told West Virginia MetroNews the rampage started Monday morning when Hunt shot Doug Brady twice in the head. Hunt had been upset because he said Brady was getting towing jobs illegally, Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom said. Hunt had attended county meetings over the past couple of months, speaking about towing problems, Bloom said.
Hunt then killed Berkshire, his ex-girlfriend, and Frum, 28, and then Jody Taylor, police said. Berkshire had been romantically involved with Frum and Taylor, police said.
In a note posted to his Facebook page Monday, Hunt wrote that he was deeply hurt by the event that led to the shootings, The Dominion Post reports, and spoke of a broken relationship with Berkshire, whom he accused of being disloyal.
Jody Hunt of Westover, W.Va.(Photo: West Virginia State Police)
"I'm sure I will be remembered by not what good I did but the devastation I caused to a few people lives," Hunt wrote in the purported Facebook entry.
On Nov. 7, Berkshire posted on her Facebook page the same picture of the Ford F-150 truck that police released to the news media. She had added a caption, "New Ride for this girl!" The Charleston Gazette reports.
State police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous said the attacks took place in Monongalia County, in the Cheat Lake and Westover areas. Westover is on the west side of the Monongahela River, across from Morgantown.
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.''
Sharon Berkshire, of Westover, W.Va., was one of four people allegedly killed by Jody Hunt, who was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Dec. 1, 2014.(Photo: Facebook)
Berkshire filed a domestic violence case against Hunt last month, according to Monongalia County Circuit Court records, which indicated there were no protective orders currently in place for Berkshire.
She filed for two protective orders against Hunt, once in 2013 and once last month, The Post reports, but dropped both before either became official.
On Nov. 27, Hunt posted a message on Berkshire's Facebook page, writing, "Love doesn't judge love excepts (sic) you as you are. Missing u!"
In his purported Facebook entry on the day of the killings, Hunt writes: "I except (sic) my actions were wrong but in my eyes just. So I will leave this world as others did. May your saddened hearts be replaced with love for me. Please take care of my dogs!"
Contributing: The Associated Press
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