WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Neighbor On Phone With Shooting Victim Heard Threats, Gunfire

Neighbor On Phone With Shooting Victim Heard Threats, Gunfire

By David McArthur

(SCOTTSBURG, Ind.) -- A neighbor who called 911 has revealed new information in an apparent murder-suicide attempt in Scottsburg, Indiana. Police say a man fatally shot himself Monday after shooting his wife. She was listed in serious condition Tuesday at University Hospital. Even though the couple had a history of problems in Kentucky, local police were caught by surprise. WAVE 3's David McArthur reports.

Police were called to the Honey Run Trailer Park in Scottsburg about 4 o'clock Monday afternoon. They arrived to find the aftermath of a domestic dispute that turned deadly: 40-year-old Ronald Akemon was dead on the floor. His wife, 44-year-old Deborah Akemon, was alive, but suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.

Police say a neighbor was on the phone with Deborah when Ronald made good on a threat to shoot his wife. "She was shot. I was talking to her on the phone."

The neighbor told us the couple had been fighting all day, and that Ronald had "been threatening to kill her, calling her the devil, saying the devil lived inside of her. Then, all of a sudden, she screamed 'Where did you get that at?' She told me: 'call 911, he's got a gun!' All of a sudden, I heard three shots and nothing else."

Ronald Akemon was pronounced died at the scene. Deborah was taken to University Hospital in Louisville, where she was listed in serious condition Tuesday afternoon.

Scottsburg Police Chief Delbert Meeks said Ronald pulled the trigger both times. "Apparently, it got to the point where he did use the weapon, which was a .22 rifle, and turned it on himself."

Scottsburg police say the couple recently moved to the area from eastern Kentucky. Court records from Breathitt County, Kentucky obtained by WAVE 3 indicate they had a history of trouble.

According to one document from 2002, Ronald wanted police to remove Deborah from their home or "he was going back home to shoot her."

Meeks said Scottsburg police had no warning that the couple had such a volatile relationship until it was too late. "There were several people in the neighborhood that gave us statements that there had been an ongoing domestic dispute, but we had never received any calls to that location."

With their suspect deceased, police do not expect any charges in the case.

And they're urging anyone involved in an abusive relationship to notify local police when moving to another city or state.

Online Reporter: David McArthur

Online Producer: Michael Dever