HENRY COUNTY, VA – Henry County Sheriff Wayne Davis says a good Samaritan was fatally stabbed early Sunday morning while he was trying to stop an attempted theft.
Emergency services were called to The Scrub Board Laundry Number 2 on Rives Road at around 1:13 a.m. for the incident.
Deputies arrived on scene and say they found William Clay Rumley, 47, of Dye Plant Road, lying on the floor with an apparent stab wound to his neck.
The Henry County Department of Public Safety also responded and provided life-saving measures, but Rumley succumbed to his injuries.
Kenneth Austin Tatum, 30, of 900 Rives Road in Martinsville, entered the laundromat and started to harass a female and tried to demand that the female give him her cell phone, according to Sheriff Davis.
Davis said Rumley was being a good Samaritan and tried to intervene in the defense of the female.
This upset Tatum, the two men got into an argument, Tatum pull out a knife and stabbed Rumley in the neck.
Sheriff Davis says Tatum was also injured and bleeding heavily from the incident and fled on foot.
The entire incident was captured on the business's security cameras.
Tatum made it to Fairy Street in Martinsville and was involved in a domestic altercation there.
The Martinsville Police Department responded to the situation and found Tatum, who was still bleeding heavily, there.
He was arrested without incident and was charged with first degree murder and taken to the Henry County Adult Detention Center, where he is held without bond.
The Sheriff said those involved did not know each other.
“This is one of the most senseless acts of violence I have seen in my 23 years of law enforcement,” Davis stated.
It is believed Tatum may have been intoxicated.
This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information about it is asked to call the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 276-638-8751 or Crimestoppers at 276-632-7463.
ORIGINAL STORY
HENRY COUNTY, VA – A good Samaritan was fatally stabbed early Sunday morning while trying to stop an attempted theft in Henry County.
Just after 1 a.m., the dispatch center received a call that an individual had been stabbed inside The Scrub Board Laundry Number 2 on Rives Road.
Deputies responded and found one male subject inside deceased.
It appears the victim was inside washing his clothes when a female entered the laundromat and started washing her clothes.
Sheriff Wayne Davis told BTW21 News another male entered the laundromat and started to harass the female and tried to demand to take a piece of property from her.
The male victim was being a good Samaritan and he tried to intervene in the defense of the female and the other male subject pulled out a knife and fatally stabbed him, Sheriff Davis said.
After the stabbing occurred, the suspect fled on foot.
With the help of the Martinsville Police Department, the suspect was arrested a few hours later on Fairy Street after he was involved in a disturbance there.
According to Davis, the victim and the suspect had never met each other.
“This is one of the most senseless acts of violence I have seen in my 23 years of law enforcement,” Davis stated.
The Henry County Department of Public Safety and the Virginia State Police helped at the scene.
This story will be updated.