Regional murder cases this year above average
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
May 31, 2016
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/regional-murder-cases-this-year-above-average/article_5aef3300-5b0c-11e7-a732-10604b9f0f42.html
In the first four months of the year, four counties in the Jackson Purchase region recorded five homicides that claimed six lives.
Ballard and Graves counties each saw murders in February, Marshall County saw one killing in March, and Paducah and McCracken County authorities each opened homicide investigations in April.
While that many killings is above average, most local law enforcement officials say they see no major reason for concern.
"I don't see any trend here or anything behind these numbers to cause alarm in regard to the rest of the year," McCracken Sheriff Jon Hayden said. "Human behavior is extremely hard to predict. Something terrible could certainly happen tomorrow, but I am not expecting that to happen."
Despite the lack of a common thread in this year's homicides, Hayden said there are some similarities.
"Several of the recent murders involved drugs," he said. "Drugs and alcohol play a huge part in a majority of the crimes we investigate day to day."
Guns were another common factor, he added, which were used as murder weapons in three of this year's homicides.
It's not unusual for crime rates to fluctuate from year to year, Hayden said. But in the Purchase area, he added, homicide numbers usually remain low.
Over the past five years, Hayden said, the McCracken County Sheriff's Department has investigated five homicides: two in 2014, one in 2015 and a double homicide this year. A second person was charged with murder in 2015, Hayden said, but that case involved a DUI-related fatality.
Typically, Hayden continued, the killings that occur in the McCracken County area are more spur-of-the-moment type crimes.
"Murder is not always a premeditated violent crime," he said. "Most commonly, murders occur in the heat of the moment or are crimes of passion. DUI deaths can also result in murder charges, but those typically result in convictions on lesser charges."
Within the city limits of Paducah, murder rates have consistently gone down over the past five years, according to the police department. In 2011, there were four murders and in 2012 and 2014, there were two each. Last year, Paducah saw one homicide and this year there has been one shooting death.
Homicides that occur within the city typically involve people who have some sort of relationship, said David White, assistant chief of the Paducah Police Department.
"Most homicides that we have are not stranger encounters," he said. "The victim and offender know one another in some way. In many cases here, homicides are either an issue of domestic violence or there is some other relationship between the victim and offender."
In Marshall and Ballard counties, murders are exceedingly rare. Marshall County has seen two homicides in the past five years, one in 2013 and one this year. Ballard County authorities investigated one killing and one attempted murder last year and one shooting death this year.
"When I started with the sheriff's department, we averaged a homicide every seven years," Marshall Sheriff Kevin Byars said. "Over the years, that window has shrunk a little bit, and now we're seeing one maybe every three to five years."
Although murders are unpredictable, Ballard Sheriff Carey Batts said the increasing number over the past couple of years does raise some concern.
"It is concerning looking at the future," he said. "I would hope that with Ballard County's history that the trend doesn't continue. But we would be fools not to prepare for the future."
Calloway County's numbers also are low, with two homicides and two attempted murders in the past five years. One of those murders took place last year in which a family of four was killed. There have been no killings in Calloway this year.
Over the past five years, Graves County has seen the most homicides — two in 2011, six the next year, one in 2013, one homicide and two manslaughter cases in 2014 and one in 2015.
Law enforcement officials said they are concerned about the prominent role of drugs and alcohol in serious crimes. Authorities estimate as many as 85 percent of serious offenses in the Purchase area have some type of drug or alcohol involvement.
Ballard and Graves counties each saw murders in February, Marshall County saw one killing in March, and Paducah and McCracken County authorities each opened homicide investigations in April.
While that many killings is above average, most local law enforcement officials say they see no major reason for concern.
"I don't see any trend here or anything behind these numbers to cause alarm in regard to the rest of the year," McCracken Sheriff Jon Hayden said. "Human behavior is extremely hard to predict. Something terrible could certainly happen tomorrow, but I am not expecting that to happen."
Despite the lack of a common thread in this year's homicides, Hayden said there are some similarities.
"Several of the recent murders involved drugs," he said. "Drugs and alcohol play a huge part in a majority of the crimes we investigate day to day."
Guns were another common factor, he added, which were used as murder weapons in three of this year's homicides.
It's not unusual for crime rates to fluctuate from year to year, Hayden said. But in the Purchase area, he added, homicide numbers usually remain low.
Over the past five years, Hayden said, the McCracken County Sheriff's Department has investigated five homicides: two in 2014, one in 2015 and a double homicide this year. A second person was charged with murder in 2015, Hayden said, but that case involved a DUI-related fatality.
Typically, Hayden continued, the killings that occur in the McCracken County area are more spur-of-the-moment type crimes.
"Murder is not always a premeditated violent crime," he said. "Most commonly, murders occur in the heat of the moment or are crimes of passion. DUI deaths can also result in murder charges, but those typically result in convictions on lesser charges."
Within the city limits of Paducah, murder rates have consistently gone down over the past five years, according to the police department. In 2011, there were four murders and in 2012 and 2014, there were two each. Last year, Paducah saw one homicide and this year there has been one shooting death.
Homicides that occur within the city typically involve people who have some sort of relationship, said David White, assistant chief of the Paducah Police Department.
"Most homicides that we have are not stranger encounters," he said. "The victim and offender know one another in some way. In many cases here, homicides are either an issue of domestic violence or there is some other relationship between the victim and offender."
In Marshall and Ballard counties, murders are exceedingly rare. Marshall County has seen two homicides in the past five years, one in 2013 and one this year. Ballard County authorities investigated one killing and one attempted murder last year and one shooting death this year.
"When I started with the sheriff's department, we averaged a homicide every seven years," Marshall Sheriff Kevin Byars said. "Over the years, that window has shrunk a little bit, and now we're seeing one maybe every three to five years."
Although murders are unpredictable, Ballard Sheriff Carey Batts said the increasing number over the past couple of years does raise some concern.
"It is concerning looking at the future," he said. "I would hope that with Ballard County's history that the trend doesn't continue. But we would be fools not to prepare for the future."
Calloway County's numbers also are low, with two homicides and two attempted murders in the past five years. One of those murders took place last year in which a family of four was killed. There have been no killings in Calloway this year.
Over the past five years, Graves County has seen the most homicides — two in 2011, six the next year, one in 2013, one homicide and two manslaughter cases in 2014 and one in 2015.
Law enforcement officials said they are concerned about the prominent role of drugs and alcohol in serious crimes. Authorities estimate as many as 85 percent of serious offenses in the Purchase area have some type of drug or alcohol involvement.
