By Ralph Ellis, Ed Payne and Mariano Castillo
(CNN) — A West Virginia man who fatally shot four people and then himself was apparently disappointed with people in his life, including his ex-girlfriend, Monongalia County Sheriff Kenneth “Al” Kisner told CNN on Tuesday.
On Monday, Jody Lee Hunt, 39, of Westover, killed his ex, a man she was having a relationship with, a rival tow truck company owner and Hunt’s cousin, Kisner said.
Hunt shot himself to death in the woods, apparently using the same pistol, the sheriff said.
When asked about Hunt’s motive, Kisner said investigators looked at Hunt’s Facebook page and found references to disappointments with people whom he considered friends.
Kisner said Hunt also referred to a text from Michael Frum in which Frum said he was now dating Sharon Berkshire, Hunt’s former girlfriend.
Frum, 28, and Berkshire, 39, were found shot to death in the Cheat Lake area, CNN affiliate WDTV reported.
Doug Brady, owner of another towing company, was shot to death at his business, WDTV reported.
Hunt’s cousin and partner in J&J Towing, 43-year-old Jody Taylor, was shot at Taylor’s home, WTRF, a local station, said.
Kisner said he didn’t know the motive in the Taylor killing but noted that Brady and Hunt were vying for business throughout the county.
Hunt planned to talk soon to a county commissioner because Hunt claimed another towing company had picked up an overturned truck when it was Hunt’s company’s turn in the rotation, WTRF reported.
The sheriff said he wants to know how Hunt obtained a firearm, because the shooter had a criminal record. He had been imprisoned twice for firearms violations, Kisner said.
In 2001, Hunt was convicted of wanton endangerment with a firearm and sentenced to five years in the West Virginia prison system, Kisner said. Hunt was convicted of abduction and use of a firearm in the commission of felony in 1999 and sentenced to three years in prison
Kisner said Hunt dated Berkshire about two years before they broke up. Berkshire filed domestic protection orders against Hunt in 2013 and 2014 but dismissed the orders and resumed the relationship with Hunt, WTRF reported, citing Kisner.
CNN’s Kevin Conlon, Janet DiGiacomo, Jennifer Moore and Karan Olson contributed to this report.
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