WV KNIFE AND GUN CLUB - Martinsburg Father Kills 9-Year-Old Son, Self

(02/09/2012)
With several incidents in West Virginia recently regarding parents killing or attempting to kill their children, authorities in the Eastern Panhandle believe a man shot his 9-year-old son to death and set their home on fire before killing himself last month.

State Police Sgt. J.D. Burkhart tells media outlets there's no reason to think anyone else was involved in the deaths of 56-year-old David Cole Hutzler and 9-year-old James "Mack" Hutzler in Glengary.

The bodies were found in a rear bedroom, and autopsies later found gunshot wounds.

Burkhart says David Hutzler had seemed unstable to friends and families over the past few months.

He'd recently told them that he and his son were going on a vacation and not coming back.

A memorial service for James Hutzler is set for Sunday at Brown Funeral Home in Martinsburg, the day after what would have been his 10th birthday.