Man kills brother in family squabble
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on July 20, 2009 1:46 PM
Full Size
News-Argus/BOBBY WILLIAMS
Det. Sgt. Rick Farfour, left, Capt. Tom Effler, center and Sheriff Carey Winders, right meet at the scene as the investigation continues into Saturday's shooting.
PIKEVILLE -- Charges have not been filed in the shooting death of a man by a family member, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said early today.
Investigators said Brian Womble, 32, was shot to death by his brother on Saturday night after a series of incidents throughout the day on Goodnight Street.
Womble lived a few doors down from his parents and brother, Michael, according to a detective familiar with the case.
Sheriff's Office Capt. Tom Effler said Womble had come down to his parents' house numerous times throughout the day, causing confrontations. Then, around 7 p.m. on Saturday, he returned to his parents' home with a stick and began hitting people with it, Effler said.
During that incident, brother Michael Womble shot Brian Womble to stop the assaults, a person familiar with the case said.
Emergency officials were dispatched to the scene immediately after the shooting, Effler said, and pronounced Womble dead on arrival.
The captain said the Sheriff's Office was processing the scene until 2:30 that morning, but has not charged anyone at the home with a crime.
Brian Womble had a lengthy criminal history, according to police and court records, including charges of failure to pay child support, driving while license revoked, several traffic violations and a charge of marijuana possession.
Effler said the case will be turned over to District Attorney Branny Vickory's office.
"At this time, we are reviewing the case file, and we will send it to the District Attorney's office and go from there," Effler said.
The Womble family told authorities they had called authorities at least once earlier in the day to investigate the disturbances that Womble had caused, the captain said.
However, when the emergency call came in, deputies were sent to Brian Womble's home, and could not find anyone at the home, Effler said.