Published: October 11, 2008 07:44 pm            

Shooting suspect charged

SPANISHBURG — A Mercer County man was arraigned late Friday night on a charge of first degree murder in the shooting death of his former spouse at a beauty salon earlier that afternoon.

State Police arrested Arthur Kenneth Cox, 50, of Bluefield, about two hours after Mercer County Sheriff’s deputies launched their investigation into the death of Belinda Marshall, 39, of the Old Spanishburg Road, Princeton.

“Mr. Cox appeared before Magistrate Rick Fowler a little after 9 p.m., Friday night,” Sgt. M.R. Crowder, co-commander of the Princeton Detachment of the West Virginia State Police said. “He is charged with first degree murder and is being held at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver.

“Magistrates can’t set bond for a suspect held on a murder charge,” Crowder said. “Mr. Cox won’t be able to appear before a circuit court judge until Tuesday or possibly Wednesday because Monday is a holiday.”

Crowder arrested Cox “without incident” shortly after 4:30 p.m., Friday. “He was at his former residence on the Old Spanishburg Road on a piece of property where he and the victim had lived,” Crowder said. “He was in a small trailer on the property.”

Crowder said that “evidence was recovered after the arrest,” but referred additional questions to the lead investigator, Detective Matt Combs of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department. Combs did not immediately respond to a voice mail message seeking comment Saturday afternoon.

Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney Timm Boggess said the state believes the incident was “domestic related,” and said that the suspect and the victim were recently divorced. “She just stopped using the name Cox, and went back to Marshall,” Boggess said. “She died as a result of a single gunshot wound.”

Boggess did not release any additional details about the shooting. “There are still some things going on with respect to the investigation,” Boggess said.

The shooting took place inside Shear Perfections on the Low Gap Road.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com

        

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