NEWTON - A Roane County man was charged with first-degree murder Wednesday after fatally shooting another man at a party on Tawney Hollow Road in Newton, police said.
Adam Lytle, 19, is accused of fatally shooting 23-year-old Jeremy Smith with a shotgun while attending a party at 121 Tawney Hollow Road, said Trooper P.S. Fisher, of the Spencer detachment of the West Virginia State Police.
Both men lived in Newton, just a few blocks from each other.
Officials with the Roane County Sheriff's Office and the West Virginia State Police responded to the house around 1 a.m. Wednesday after receiving an emergency call regarding a shooting, said Fisher.
Smith was found dead inside the residence, said Fisher.
"Police located the suspect a couple hundred feet from the house, on a hill behind the residence," said Fisher. "Statements were obtained from three witnesses at the gathering."
While in police custody, Lytle confessed to shooting Smith twice with a shotgun, Fisher said.
Investigators are still looking for answers, including a motive for the shooting.
"It appears the two men did not know each other well, and from what witnesses reported, there was no indication of an altercation at the time of the shooting," said Fisher. "But the suspect did have a history of violent behavior. Roane County officials had received numerous calls in the past regarding Lytle."
The crime scene was processed by the West Virginia State Police Crime Lab.
Fisher said there were illicit drugs and alcohol at the party.
Lytle is in custody at Central Regional Jail in Flatwoods without bond.
