Suspect who killed his cheating wife ‘knew he was going to jail’ so he went out and murdered another man, cops say
A Virginia man is accused of killing his wife over infidelity — and then killing another man because he “knew he was going to jail,” according to police.
Authorities arrived at a home in Ridgeway, Virginia after receiving a report just before 1 p.m. Tuesday that a man had been shot in the road. The man, later identified as 68-year-old William Leroy Morey, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.
Morey was reportedly checking on 22-year-old Mandy Coleman, who lived at the home with her two small children. Police found Coleman dead from a gunshot wound.
Her husband, 30-year-old Joshua Corbett Coleman, quickly emerged as a suspect.
Police arrested him around 2:40 p.m. during a traffic stop and found the children inside the vehicle. They were “safe and unharmed,” the sheriff’s office said. Coleman was armed with a handgun and an AR-15 rifle, according to police.
Coleman admitted to the killings following his arrest, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WDBJ7.
He told police that he accused her of cheating on him during a tense argument before heading to his room, grabbing a gun, and shooting her in the head, the complaint states.
Coleman then took his two children with him in the car.
He “knew he was going to jail” and decided to search for Morey to kill him, too, the complaint says.
After he couldn’t man the 68-year-old man at his home, Coleman returned to the Ridgeway home to find Morey in the street and shot him to death, according to the filing.
The relationship between Morey and the Colemans is not immediately clear. An investigation is ongoing.
Coleman is now being held in the Henry County Adult Detention Center without bond.
He faces two counts of first degree murder, two counts of use of firearm in the commission of a felony, one count of shooting from an occupied vehicle, and two counts of child abuse.
Authorities are offering a reward of up to $2,500 in exchange for information related to the crime.
“This is a heartbreaking and tragic situation that has deeply affected two families and our entire community,” Sheriff Wayne Davis said. “Our hearts go out to the loved ones of the victims during this incredibly difficult time.”
