Patricia Ann Alger, a 53-year-old White / Caucasian female, died on Saturday, January 20, 2024, after a shooting at a residence in Coalwood, West Virginia, in McDowell County. Though she was born in Welch and was connected to the Welch area, online reports identified her as living in Coalwood at the time of her death. She was described in obituary information as a homemaker, a former pharmacy technician at Citizens Drug Store in Welch, and a graduate of Mount View High School.
She had been born on October 8, 1970, in Welch, the daughter of Elmer Sorros and Floriene Jarrells, and she was preceded in death by her husband, Franklin Thomas “Tommy” Alger Jr.
The call for help came during the afternoon of January 20, 2024. West Virginia State Police said Trooper K. S. Little responded to a residence in the Coalwood area at about 4:05 p.m. When law enforcement and emergency responders arrived, Patricia was found suffering from two gunshot wounds. EMS pronounced her dead at the scene. Her body was later transported to the West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy, while state police continued processing the case as a homicide investigation.
The suspect was identified almost immediately as Patricia’s son, Franklin Alger III, who was 18 years old and also from Coalwood. Authorities said he was taken into custody shortly after the shooting and charged with murder in connection with his mother’s death. Reports described the charge as murder, and later coverage identified it as a first-degree murder charge. After his arrest, he was transported to the McDowell County Holding Facility in Welch to await court proceedings.
Court-related reporting said Franklin Alger III was arraigned before a magistrate on January 21, 2024, and that no bond was set at that stage. Prosecutors noted that under West Virginia law, bond in a first-degree murder case would have to be handled by a circuit court judge rather than set at the magistrate level. At the time of those early reports, dates for a bond hearing or preliminary hearing had not yet been set, and the investigation was still described as active and ongoing.
A later report referenced a preliminary hearing for Franklin Alger III and again stated that he had been arrested on January 20 and charged with first-degree murder after Patricia Alger was shot twice. Public online reporting did not reveal a detailed motive for the shooting, and the available reports did not describe any additional suspects. The case, as publicly reported, centered on the allegation that Franklin Alger III fatally shot his mother inside or at the Coalwood residence, leaving a family and a small McDowell County community to absorb the shock of a domestic homicide that unfolded inside the home.
