ATV’s rumble may have led to ‘murder by duel’

Authorities file rare charge in shootout in West Virginia that left 1 dead

Video: Crime & courts

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About his Father
If you were suddenly gone tomorrow, how many lives do you think you would have touched? After a young doctor named Andrew Bagby is murdered, his best friend from childhood, filmmaker Kurt Kuenne, sets out to memorialize his friend for himself and Andrew’s family. But the film takes on a whole new meaning after Andrew’s ex-girlfriend is charged with his murder and is then set free on bail. Preview this story, whose twists and turns will leave you breathless.

Witness: Unruly scene before Wal-Mart death

Bruised teen claims captivity escape

Arrest made in Hudson case

Shackled teen claims he was captive

On the run

15 Most Wanted

The U.S. Marshals want your help finding their "15 Most Wanted" fugitives, a notorious list of suspects fleeing everything from murder and robbery to child sex charges. To date, about 200 of the fugitives profiled on the list have been found. Tips leading to an arrest are rewarded up to $25,000. Click here to see the fugitives.

updated 5:53 p.m. ET May 1, 2007

WELCH, W.Va. - The annoying buzz of an all-terrain vehicle may have triggered a deadly shootout that led police to file a rare charge of “murder by duel,” authorities said.

The count, based on a dueling law that predates West Virginia’s statehood, was filed Monday against Steven Bryant Simpson, 47, said state trooper J.S. McCarty.

Simpson is accused of killing Dana Martin, 39, in an April 20 shootout a few hundred yards from Simpson’s home.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

“We’ve had shootout-type cases, but I can’t recall one quite like this where there was an argument, then the people separated and came back to the very same location, each knowing the other had a gun,” said prosecutor Sid Bell.

The law, written in 1849, reads: “If any person fight a duel in this state and in so doing inflict a mortal wound, he shall be deemed guilty of murder.” West Virginia became a state in 1863.

The felony carries the same penalty as first-degree murder, up to a life sentence, McCarty said.

Click for related content

2 women who killed mates win parole

Witnesses: Men came back armed
Witnesses saw the men argue in the road, part ways to retrieve handguns and return with weapons, Bell said. Testing determined that both weapons were fired. Martin was fatally shot in the torso.

Witnesses told police that Simpson was disturbed by the roaring sound of an ATV that Martin repeatedly drove past Simpson’s house while helping a woman move.

A call to Simpson’s attorney, Lacy Wright Jr., was not immediately returned.