A Kentucky mayor was shot to death by his girlfriend’s stepson over what police believe was a personal vendetta. They say the guy didn’t have a motive but if you ask me it was built up anger(yep nobody asked me). Click below to find out more.
The alleged killer, 30-year-old Thomas Joseph Lattus, surrendered to police in the wee hours of the night and confessed to shooting Hickman Mayor Charles Murphy, according to The Associated Press.
Lattus was charged with murder and is being held at the Fulton County Detention Center pending arraignment.
Police say Murphy, who did not give a motive when he showed up at the police station, was likely upset by the mayor’s on-and-off relationship with his stepmother, Carol Lattus.
“It wasn’t random or anything like that; it’s personal,” Hickman police chief Tony Grogan told the AP. “I would assume that it’s just that he didn’t like him.”
Murphy, 68, was well known and liked in the small town of 2,500 people. In his second term as mayor, he also had a connection to many residents through his past as a former school principal.
“I’m just in a state of shock,” City Manager Larry Myatt told the West Kentucky Star. “I’m overwhelmed. It’s just so surreal.”
Lattus, who friends said had recently moved back to the area, was described by one neighbor as unstable. Police suggested
his prior interactions with Murphy may have motivated the crime.
“From Tommy’s point of view, I think he might have had some friction, from things that happened in the past,” Grogan said.
