A Todd County grand jury will soon hear the murder case against 44-year old David Slagle of Lewisburg, the man accused of fatally shooting 57-year old Deborah McGee outside of her Heltsley Road home near Clifty earlier this month.
Slagle appeared in Todd District Court for a preliminary hearing Monday and Kentucky State Police Detective Brian Graves testified that McGee was shot once in the chest, likely with a 20-gauge shotgun, though the weapon has not been recovered.
Investigation and witnesses led to Slagle becoming a suspect and his mother reportedly told investigators that her son admitted to shooting McGee before fleeing on an ATV.
Another witness told police Slagle had threatened to shoot McGee the week prior and he was arrested the day after the murder at a home in Logan County. While he was on the run, he allegedly called another person and asked for their help to avoid capture and told another he believed he had killed someone.
Detective Graves says Slagle claimed the shooting was an accident—that he was attempting to fix an issue with the victim’s gun when it went off.
The detective says investigation led KSP to believe the shooting was intentional.
After hearing the testimony, Todd District Judge Ken Williams sent the case to a grand jury for consideration of an indictment. County Attorney Jeff Traughber says a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is likely to be added in the grand jury process, as Slagle was previously convicted of a felony in Warren County.