Selma Death Ruled Murder

A suspicious death in Selma has been officially labeled murder.

According to Alleghany County Sheriff Kevin Hall, the Tuesday death of Joe Ray Rumfelt, 71, of 1412 Donovan Street, is being investigated as a homicide.

“The preliminary cause of death from the medical examiner was a gunshot wound,” Hall said Thursday morning. “We’re treating this as a homicide.”

Hall and Alleghany County deputies were called to Donovan Street at approximately 8:20 p.m. Tuesday evening, where Rumfelt’s body was discovered.

At the time, Hall labeled the death as suspicious until his officers could gather more information.

Since the medical examiner’s finding on Wednesday, Hall has reached out to the Virginia State Police as deputies began to search for anything that would point them toward a suspect.

“We do not have a suspect at this time,” Hall said. “We’ve been trying to get into (Rumfelt’s) background and talk to friends, acquaintances, things of that nature.

“We’ve canvassed the neighborhood and even held a Neighborhood Watch meeting at Selma Epworth United Methodist Church to see if anyone has seen or heard anything,” continued Hall.

A search warrant for Rumfelt’s residence was executed Wednesday to seek any evidence that may have not been discovered initially at the crime scene.

Six investigators and two crime scene technicians from the Virginia State Police are assisting the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.

“All the teams are getting back together today for some new assignments,” said Hall. “We’ll be going out on some interviews and continuing our investigation.”

In the meantime, Hall is asking anyone with information pertaining to the murder to contact the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office at 965-1770. Dial 0 to speak to a dispatcher who will take the information and pass it along to investigating officers.