Magistrate Court records indicate that a man in Braxton County is charged with first-degree murder after officers found him at the scene of a woman’s death on Monday, December 12. Braxton County Sheriffs Deputies and Troopers from the Sutton Detachment of the West Virginia State Police responded to the residence on Dessie Clem Road in the southern part of the county.
Two state troopers and two deputies responded to Dessie Clem Road and encountered a man armed with a knife standing next to a sport utility vehicle beside a woman covered in blood and unresponsive, the complaint said. Officers identified the man as Rodney Brian Dobbins, 48, who was holding a large kitchen knife, with blood apparently on his hands and the body of the woman lying face down beside him.
Officers ordered the man to drop the knife, the criminal complaint says, he raised his hands and put the blade to his neck and attempted to cut himself. After several commands, the man dropped the knife and went to the ground and laid on his stomach. He was then taken into custody. Dobbins was arrested Monday and charged with the death of his wife.
Family members told Channel 8 News in an interview that they had been seeking treatment for Dobbins’ mental health issue since September, but he had not received satisfactory assistance. They also told the reporter that Dobbins had never exhibited any aggressive or violent tendencies.
Dobbins was arraigned in Braxton County Magistrate Court before Magistrate David Singleton on charges of first-degree murder. He is currently incarcerated at the Central Regional Jail without bond pending additional court appearances.
Devoted to Braxton County, West Virginia