A man accused of killing his wife and trying to make her death look like a suicide will have his case sent to a grand jury.
Kanawha County Magistrate Rusty Casto found probable cause for the first-degree murder charge against Randall Todd Chapman, 47, after an hour-long hearing Tuesday. Chapman is being held without bail at South Central Regional Jail.
Kanawha Sheriff's Detective Adam Crawford told Casto during the hearing that he found Chapman's wife, Shirlene, dead on the living room floor of their Big Chimney home. He said the woman died after a bullet entered her back and became lodged in her chest area.
"[Chapman] told me that he had been awoken by something and had found his wife apparently deceased," Crawford said. He said a .45-caliber handgun sat in a pool of blood nearby, and that Chapman had a "large amount" of guns in his home.
Chapman smelled like alcohol at the scene, the detective said, and he admitted to drinking several beers and shots of whiskey with his wife that day. The detective added that Chapman answered each question coherently.
Crawford later drove Chapman to jail, and said the man seemed uncomfortable.
"He said, 'The ride is fine, I just can't believe I've done this...if this is what you all are saying I've done,'" Crawford said.
The couple had about $600,000 in savings, according to Crawford's testimony. He said Chapman referred to the money as a "nest egg," and that his wife may have spent the money.
"He said during the morning hours they were in what he described as a 'tiff,'" the detective said, referring to his conversation with Chapman.
Chapman's attorney, David Ford, said evidence failed to prove Shirlene Chapman's death was deliberate or premeditated, which meant that Chapman's wife could have committed suicide.
"The photographs and the information I'm trying to elicit from the officer would help us determine whether or not it's appropriate for this man, Mr. Chapman, to be charged with a first-degree murder," he said.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Maryclaire Akers said Ford's questions were more appropriate for a discovery hearing, not Tuesday's preliminary hearing. Casto seemed to agree.
"It sounds like these questions are appropriate later on, but not at this present time," he said.
Reach Giuseppe Sabella at giuseppe.sabella@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @Gsabella on Twitter.