Two Tazewell County residents die in apparent murder-suicide
Nov. 25—By GREG JORDAN
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
TAZEWELL, Va. — Detectives with the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office are investigating an apparent Thanksgiving Day murder-suicide in which a Tip Top resident appeared to have shot his neighbor before shooting himself shortly afterward.
The Tazewell County 911 Center received a call a little after 3 p.m. Thursday about a shooting that had just occurred at two residences in the Tip Top area between two neighbors, according to a statement released Friday by Sheriff Brian L. Hieatt.
Tip Top, an unincorporated community, is located along Tip Top Road between Springville and Abbs Valley in Tazewell County's Northern District.
Sheriff's deputies and EMS responded to the area and found two deceased men, one inside of his home and the other man next door in his home's front yard, Hieatt said.
As information was gathered, it appears that one neighbor, Jerry Keen, 56, walked in through the back door of Terry Hager, 61, with a shotgun, and shot him in his living room.
After leaving Hager's home, Keen went next door to his own home, reloaded his shotgun, and then shot himself, Hieatt said.
Both men have been taken to the Medical Examiner's Office in Roanoke, where detectives from the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office will be meeting Monday morning with the Medical Examiner to continue the investigation, Hieatt said.
'We may never know the exact reason that Mr. Keen decided on this day to walk across the yard and commit these terrible acts on Thanksgiving, but we believe several factors may have been bothering him for some time, including a past incident that happened in December of 2021 where Mr. Hager was charged with malicious wounding (a felony) against Mr. Keen," Hieatt stated.
"In the end of that case a jury found Mr. Hager not guilty," Hieatt said. "Apparently that case and other things had been bothering Mr. Keen for some time now. Either way, it is a sad situation for both families to have to cope with, especially during the holidays."
The incident remains under investigation by the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office.
No additional details were immediately released Friday.
— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
