Friday, April 03, 2009

Where is The Homestead murderer?

It has been almost two weeks since the tragic double murder at The Homestead Resort in western Virginia and, though a warrant was issued for the arrest of a resort employee, he is still on the loose.

No news is coming out of the small town of Hot Springs concerning the whereabouts of Beacher F. Hackney of Covington, a stewart in the main kitchen, who shot and killed two co-workers around 8 pm on Saturday, March 21. At the time it was thought a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol had been used. The kitchen has been described as a big open area where others very likely could have witnessed the shooting.

Hackney escaped on foot heading south on U.S. 220 which would have been in the direction of Covington, where he lived. His vehicle was left behind and was confiscated by police who initiated a search for the murderer with tracking dogs, helicopter, and road checkpoints set up on Rt. 220.

So the speculation now is about what happened to him. Did he have an accomplice waiting with a getaway vehicle? Did he escape into the rugged Alleghany Mountains of western Virginia ... which then begs the question of whether he was a survivalist or someone who was familiar with living in the woods. There have been some extremely cold temps at night since the murder occurred ... where would he get provisions ... did he have somewhere already stocked ... is he even still in the state?

I-64 is about 30 miles south of The Homestead. If he was able to hitchhike and grab a ride, he could be in any state in the country by now ... or even out of the country.

On the other hand, it was believed he still had the weapon with him. Could he be dead somewhere from a self-inflicted gunshot wound?

More lingering than anything else is the question why? What motive did he have to kill two fellow employees during the busy dinner hour while guests were dining nearby? He reportedly had worked at the resort for about six years. Were there problems with his work ethic? Had he argued with the others? He was 59 years old ... what was his past? He was described as a loner who did not associate with co-workers, and police suggested the murder may have been planned. The victims, Ronnie Stinnett and Dwight Kerr, were described as friendly and outgoing so the question would arise as to why he would turn on them.

There are a hundred questions surrounding this case ... but the news outlets have gone silent as interest wanes. When I googled the murder, nothing new was found.

Where is Beacher F. Hackney, the alleged Homestead murderer?

Earlier post about the murder and photos of The Homestead from Christmas 2008.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I don't believe that his real name, there's something too clean about this, the car, apartment and the quietness that Hackney exibited
for five years of working at the Homestead. I'm a arm chair detective without more info.