Background: A section of Lower Line Creek Road in Pulaski County, Ky. (Google Maps). Inset left: McCoy Chaney (Pulaski County Sheriff's Office). Inset right: Sherri Mitko (Lake Cumberland Funeral Home).
A woman's rural Kentucky home was apparently "targeted" before she was killed and suspects were caught on an open line to 911 lamenting her death.
McCoy Chaney, 20, has been charged with murder in connection with the death of 70-year-old Sherri Mitko, as well as robbery in the first degree, and burglary in the first degree, the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office announced. He was booked in the Pulaski County Detention Center and held on a $1.5 million bond.
Two teenagers were also charged with murder in connection with the case.
Just after midnight on Aug. 12, deputies with the sheriff's office arrived to do a welfare check at a residence on Lower Line Creek Road in Pulaski County, Kentucky. The rural area is about a 2½ hour drive from Louisville.
Someone had called 911, and on an open line, two individuals could be heard, according to regional CBS affiliate WKYT. One person could be heard saying, "We should not have killed her, let's get out of here."
When deputies went inside the home, they found Mitko dead, with a preliminary report determining that she died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The sheriff's office said its detectives were "pursuing several leads" and had "identified persons of interest." On Sunday, the two teens were charged with murder, and Chaney was charged the following day.
One of the teens — a 15-year-old boy — confessed to invading the home and robbing it along with a 17-year-old boy, the area TV station reported. He allegedly said Chaney took them to the home and that the 17-year-old shot the woman.
They apparently left the area with $240 and some alcohol.
Chaney suggested that he did not know what the boys were going to do.
"It was told to me that I was supposed to be going to drop them off to a friend's house and let them pick something up that they left there after they stayed there," he said, per WKYT. "And then I ended up hearing the gunshots go off. So I knew something wasn't right. I knew something else was going on."
"I wanted to leave, but I have been threatened before, like, 'oh, if you leave, we're gonna find you, we're gonna hurt you,'" he added. "'If you say anything, we're gonna hurt you.'"
According to Chaney's account of events, the teens got back in the car and demanded he leave.
Pulaski County Sheriff Bobby Jones said Mitko's house was "targeted" — though it is unclear why — and that at least some of the suspects "had been to this house previously."
A teary Chaney said he only reconnected with the teens about a year ago when "they ran into me at Walmart." He stated he then "stayed away" for a while because "I'm trying to keep myself out of any trouble."
Chaney is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 24.
Mitko's obituary says she "enjoyed making a wide range of things for her friends and family; like wedding dresses, baked goods, and encouraging advice." She was a substitute teacher.
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