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Trooper's shooting death ruled homicide; link sought to intruder
October 16 2003
DAWN, Va. -- A state police officer was fatally shot in his home Thursday and investigators sought a link with an intruder's break-in at his rural home two days earlier.
State Police 1st Sgt. Taylor V. Blanton, 46, who directed the Computer Evidence Recovery Unit of the Bureau of Criminal Investigations, was found sometime after 6 a.m. with a gunshot wound in the chest, investigators said.
Blanton, a 23-year state police veteran, was transported to the VCU Medical Center in Richmond, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators said Blanton was killed with one of his own guns. They did not say if it was his service revolver or a personal weapon.
Police said his wife was home at the time of the shooting and may have seen the shooter. At least one child was also in the home, police said.
Caroline County Sheriff Homer G. Johnson said the killing could have been related to an intruder's appearance at Blanton's house Tuesday morning.
Johnson said someone came into Blanton's home at around 7:30 a.m. while he was home alone taking a shower. The intruder rummaged through Blanton's belongings and left a note from a notepad in the kitchen.
Johnson said Blanton's wife returned home after taking one of their children to school, found the note, and called police. Police said the Blantons did not see anybody, and there was no evidence of forced entry. Police are dusting the note for fingerprints.
It was a very short note and not threatening--"it was just to let them know someone was there," Johnson said. He said it was "very possible" that somebody could have been watching Blanton or his home.
Johnson said there were wadded-up bills thrown on the floor from Blanton's billfold, but nothing was taken from the residence.
"This could very well have something to do with this case," Johnson said. "Anything like that certainly throws up a red flag to you."
Johnson said he had known Blanton for more than 30 years and did not know him to have any enemies or domestic problems. He said he saw him at a high school football game a week ago, and Blanton appeared "as normal as could be."
"He was a very dear friend of mine. I lost a good friend this morning," he said.
Investigators released no details on how many times Blanton was shot or who found his body. They also would not say whether they had any suspects.
On the circumstances surrounding the death, "anything is possible at this point," said Sgt. David Chewning, a spokesman for the state police.
Chewning said he and Blanton were shift partners in Caroline County in 1987.
"It's tough for me ... I've known his family for years," he said. "I'm trying to be as professional as I can without breaking down. He was a good friend of mine."
Hours after Blanton was found, police were still combing the area near his home in rural Caroline County, about 35 miles south of Fredericksburg. The wooded lane leading to Blanton's home was blocked by police cruisers and crime tape throughout the day. State police helicopters buzzed over the yellowing soybean fields and pony pastures that surround Blanton's sprawling property.
More than 70 law enforcement personnel were on the scene Thursday, including agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, state police and sheriff's deputies from several counties.
Blanton was married to his second wife and had four children, including two stepchildren. His family was interviewed by police for hours Thursday, officials said.
A man identifying himself as Blanton's stepbrother declined to comment when contacted by phone at his home in nearby Ruther Glen Thursday afternoon. He said the family was still uncertain about what had happened and it was too soon for them to talk about it.
Johnson said Blanton had many relatives living in the area. His mother works for state police in Richmond as a receptionist and his first wife works at the police academy, investigators said.
According to the state police Web site, Blanton joined the state police force in 1980 as a trooper and was promoted to first sergeant and transferred to the Bureau of Criminal Investigations in 1988.
Blanton was the third state trooper to die this year. Michael T. Blanton, no relation to Taylor Blanton, was killed near Richmond in January after a suspect's car rolled over him as he tried to get the man to stop. Anthony Darryl Campbell, on active duty with the Virginia National Guard, was killed in a four-car accident on the Eastern Shore in June.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/loca...16,0,2033005.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia
October 16 2003
DAWN, Va. -- A state police officer was fatally shot in his home Thursday and investigators sought a link with an intruder's break-in at his rural home two days earlier.
State Police 1st Sgt. Taylor V. Blanton, 46, who directed the Computer Evidence Recovery Unit of the Bureau of Criminal Investigations, was found sometime after 6 a.m. with a gunshot wound in the chest, investigators said.
Blanton, a 23-year state police veteran, was transported to the VCU Medical Center in Richmond, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators said Blanton was killed with one of his own guns. They did not say if it was his service revolver or a personal weapon.
Police said his wife was home at the time of the shooting and may have seen the shooter. At least one child was also in the home, police said.
Caroline County Sheriff Homer G. Johnson said the killing could have been related to an intruder's appearance at Blanton's house Tuesday morning.
Johnson said someone came into Blanton's home at around 7:30 a.m. while he was home alone taking a shower. The intruder rummaged through Blanton's belongings and left a note from a notepad in the kitchen.
Johnson said Blanton's wife returned home after taking one of their children to school, found the note, and called police. Police said the Blantons did not see anybody, and there was no evidence of forced entry. Police are dusting the note for fingerprints.
It was a very short note and not threatening--"it was just to let them know someone was there," Johnson said. He said it was "very possible" that somebody could have been watching Blanton or his home.
Johnson said there were wadded-up bills thrown on the floor from Blanton's billfold, but nothing was taken from the residence.
"This could very well have something to do with this case," Johnson said. "Anything like that certainly throws up a red flag to you."
Johnson said he had known Blanton for more than 30 years and did not know him to have any enemies or domestic problems. He said he saw him at a high school football game a week ago, and Blanton appeared "as normal as could be."
"He was a very dear friend of mine. I lost a good friend this morning," he said.
Investigators released no details on how many times Blanton was shot or who found his body. They also would not say whether they had any suspects.
On the circumstances surrounding the death, "anything is possible at this point," said Sgt. David Chewning, a spokesman for the state police.
Chewning said he and Blanton were shift partners in Caroline County in 1987.
"It's tough for me ... I've known his family for years," he said. "I'm trying to be as professional as I can without breaking down. He was a good friend of mine."
Hours after Blanton was found, police were still combing the area near his home in rural Caroline County, about 35 miles south of Fredericksburg. The wooded lane leading to Blanton's home was blocked by police cruisers and crime tape throughout the day. State police helicopters buzzed over the yellowing soybean fields and pony pastures that surround Blanton's sprawling property.
More than 70 law enforcement personnel were on the scene Thursday, including agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, state police and sheriff's deputies from several counties.
Blanton was married to his second wife and had four children, including two stepchildren. His family was interviewed by police for hours Thursday, officials said.
A man identifying himself as Blanton's stepbrother declined to comment when contacted by phone at his home in nearby Ruther Glen Thursday afternoon. He said the family was still uncertain about what had happened and it was too soon for them to talk about it.
Johnson said Blanton had many relatives living in the area. His mother works for state police in Richmond as a receptionist and his first wife works at the police academy, investigators said.
According to the state police Web site, Blanton joined the state police force in 1980 as a trooper and was promoted to first sergeant and transferred to the Bureau of Criminal Investigations in 1988.
Blanton was the third state trooper to die this year. Michael T. Blanton, no relation to Taylor Blanton, was killed near Richmond in January after a suspect's car rolled over him as he tried to get the man to stop. Anthony Darryl Campbell, on active duty with the Virginia National Guard, was killed in a four-car accident on the Eastern Shore in June.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/loca...16,0,2033005.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia
