VSP: Man killed after Prince George pursuit was a suspect in wife's disappearance, murder
PRINCE GEORGE — The man shot to death Wednesday in an altercation with Hopewell and federal law enforcement was a suspect in the disappearance and murder of his wife just days earlier in Pennsylvania, Virginia State Police said Thursday afternoon.
Derrick Glen Avey, 42, of Newberg, Pennsylvania, was killed after state police said he "confronted" a deputy and police officer from Hopewell and a federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent at the intersection of Temple Avenue and River Road near Fort Lee. Shortly after Avey was killed, the Pennsylvania State Police found the body of his wife, 41-year-old Kyline Avey, in a wooded area near the family home in Franklin County, about 45 minutes south of Harrisburg.
PSP spokesperson Trooper Megan Ammerman said Kyline Avey had not been seen or heard from in several days prior to Wednesday. After an investigation, Derrick Avey was named a suspect in her disappearance.
Kyline Avey died of multiple gunshot wounds, Ammerman said.
Related: State police say driver 'confronted' Hopewell authorities but do not say if he shot first
Hopewell Sheriff Travis Stanley said a motorist on Interstate 295 reported seeing a black 2016 Ford Explorer run into a guardrail. Stanley's office was alerted because his deputies regularly patrol I-295 between the Appomattox River and Hopewell.
A deputy attempted to stop the vehicle on Oaklawn Boulevard to no avail, Virginia State Police Sgt. Jessica Shehan said. The slow-speed pursuit continued out of Hopewell and onto Temple Avenue heading toward Colonial Heights.
The police officer and ATF agents went to the intersection of Temple and River Road in an effort to block Derrick Avey's vehicle. When he stopped, Shehan said he "confronted" the officers with a weapon and was subsequently shot multiple times. He died at the scene.
Shehan said she was not sure if Derrick Avey fired his weapon before he was shot by the authorities. The VSP is conducting an investigation into the shooting at the request of Hopewell Police, the Hopewell sheriff and the Richmond ATF field office.
"Once the Virginia State Police has completed its investigation, the investigative findings will be turned over to the commonwealth's attorney for final review and adjudication," Shehan said in an email.
The status of the officers involved in the shooting is unknown at this time since none of the agencies have commented on the investigation. It traditionally is procedure that any law-enforcement officer involved in a shooting, deadly or otherwise, be placed on administrative leave while the investigation is conducted.
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Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist and daily news coach for USA TODAY Network's Atlantic Region which includes Virginia. He is based in Petersburg, Virginia. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Driver shot to death after Virginia pursuit wanted for murder in Pa.
