CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Family members of the Kanawha County man who shot and killed his adopted daughter and wounded his adopted son in May 2013 are expected to offer statements during a sentencing hearing for Roy Pittman, 70, in June.
On Thursday, Pittman plead guilty to a charge of 2nd degree murder and a charge of attempted 2nd degree murder for the shooting death of Brittany “Britt” Pittman, 15, and the wounding of Matthew Pittman, then 18, in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
According to Don Morris, assistant Kanawha County prosecuting attorney, Pittman shot Brittany with a 20-gauge shotgun inside the family’s Keystone Dr. home in Charleston, reloaded the shotgun and then went to a nearby home to shoot Matthew who survived a leg wound.
Roy Pittman later shot himself in the face in a failed suicide attempt.
As part of his plea deal, a charge of malicious wounding was dropped.
Pittman’s attorney, Ronni Sheets, a defender in the Kanawha County Public Defender Office, had requested a continuance for Thursday’s plea hearing.
“The landslide from Yeager Airport came down onto Keystone Drive which is where his residence is. The flooding flooded his house, has destroyed his home,” Sheets explained to Kanawha County Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit.
“His wife and three small children have been displaced since March. Obviously, that’s very stressful for him. There’s negotiations regarding what will happen with the home, where the family will live and all of this, obviously, impacts him,” said Sheets who noted that Pittman feels “overwhelmed.”
The request for a delay for the plea was denied.
Pittman will be sentenced on June 8.