A beloved wife and mother was fatally stabbed in her Virginia home earlier this month before her assailant was shot and killed by her husband.
The tragic incident happened in the Shenandoah Valley on August 3. Authorities still don’t know what led the suspect to the home of Michael and Holly Hatcher or why he attacked the couple, and they won’t be able to question the man because he was shot and killed by Michael Hatcher in self-defense.
In a social media video, Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson said an armed suspect entered the family’s Virginia home.
Kevin Moses Walker, 41, of Pikesville, Maryland, was found dead outside the home with Michael Hatcher, Hutcheson said.
The suspect entered the home with a large knife and fatally stabbed Holly Hatcher before turning to Michael Hatcher and attacking him, Hutcheson said in the video statement.
Michael Hatcher and the suspect’s scuffle spilled outside the home where Hutcheson said Michael Hatcher was able to retrieve a handgun from his vehicle and fatally shoot the suspect.
In the aftermath of the deadly attack, Hutcheson said investigators determined Walker rented a campsite Aug. 1 at Endless Caverns, about 3.3 miles from the Hatcher’s home.
Later that day, Hutcheson said Walker bought a sleeping bag and a large knife at nearby Walmart.
According to the sheriff, Walker allegedly broke into Endless Caverns and the store leading to the cave system the day before he went to the Hatcher home, though authorities say he didn’t take anything from the business. What Walker did between the early morning hours of August 2 and late on August 3, when he broke into the Hatcher home, remains as much of a mystery as how and why he ended up at the Hatcher’s home and forced his way inside.
The motivation for the random attack may never be known, which only compounds the grief felt by the Hatcher family.
Michael Hatcher held back tears as he mourned the loss of his wife and continued nursing injuries he sustained in the attack.
“There’s no way for you to know the trauma and the pain and the unanswered questions that I have, that my three sons, Dane, Spencer and Connor have had,” Michael Hatcher said in a statement.
Michael Hatcher, 65, continued calling Holly Hatcher’s homicide a “terrible” tragedy.
“There’s going to be questions that will never be answered,” Michael Hatcher said in the video. “But all I can tell you is we’ve cried, we’ve hurt and we’ve hugged and we have found more love than we have ever known existed between us and between you.”
This tragic story is getting some national (or at least Nashville) attention because the Hatcher’s son Spencer is an up-and-coming country artist, but the incident has rocked the local community. Sheriff Hutcheson described the case as “highly unusual”, noting it appears to have been a completely random by an individual with no apparent history of criminal behavior, adding that he’s never had a case like this in more than 30 years in law enforcement.
As horrible as this incident is, it would have been even worse if the couple’s sons had lost both of their parents in this random attack. And if Michael Hatcher hadn’t shot and killed Walker, it’s entirely possible that the suspect would have targeted other homes in the area and there would have been even more victims. I’m sure that’s little consolation for the family and friends who are grieving the loss of Holly Hatcherr, but I hope the Rockingham community lets Michael Hatcher know they love and appreciate him just as much as they mourn the loss of his beloved wife.
After I wrote this post, but before it was published, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (where I serve as an unpaid board member) issued its own statement on the incident. I think Chairman Alan Gottlieb and I are of like mind here.
“This inexplicable act underscores the importance of every citizen’s right to self-defense, and to possess the means to immediately stop a violent attack,” he observed. “This case illustrates the fact that violent crime is unpredictable, and that nobody is immune, no matter who they are or where they may live.
“The fact that this tragedy happened to a prominent family reminds us that violent crime can, and does, happen to anybody,” Gottlieb continued. “Yet today in America, we see efforts to disarm honest citizens, leaving them vulnerable to violent and deadly assault.”
Gottlieb noted that the attacker used a knife. He said this only reinforces the importance of being prepared, which includes exercising the right to own firearms for personal protection.
“We will perhaps never know why the man who killed Mrs. Hatcher did this terrible thing,” Gottlieb said. “What we do know is that her husband was able to stop the killer from committing further violence because he had a firearm with which he was able to fight back. No words can ever fully heal this kind of tragic loss, but we are grateful Mr. Hatcher was able to defend himself and survive, and that he had a gun when he needed it.”
Editor’s Note: Life is precious and worth protecting, and the Second Amendment protects our right to protect ourselves and loved ones.
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