Timothy Slayton was a 41-year-old White man from Elkins, West Virginia, described by those who knew him as a loving fiancé, father, son, and brother with a creative spirit and a great sense of humor. His life was cut short on the night of November 18, 2021, in an act of violence that unfolded on Whiteman Avenue.
Late that Thursday, around 11:40 p.m., residents in a home heard gunshots outside, followed by a knock at their door.
When they opened it, they found Timothy Slayton leaning against the doorframe, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Before being brought inside, he managed to tell them, “I’ve been shot.” Officers with the Elkins Police Department arrived and provided medical aid until paramedics could take over. Slayton was rushed to Davis Medical Center, but he died from his injuries shortly after his arrival.
The investigation began immediately. Witnesses at the scene told officers they had seen a gray truck parked nearby that left just before law enforcement arrived. A pivotal piece of information came from Slayton’s mother, who informed police that a man named Heath Coberly had allegedly threatened her son with a firearm about a week earlier. This lead directed investigators to a suspect in a matter of hours.
Just after 1:00 a.m. on November 19, police located 48-year-old Heath Coberly at his residence on South Kerens Avenue. At his home, they found a truck matching the description given by witnesses, which had a broken passenger-side window. A spent shell casing was visible on the front seat. After Coberly came out of his residence, he was taken into custody. Police reported that after being read his rights, Coberly admitted to willfully traveling to Slayton's location and confessed to shooting him.
Coberly was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, and he was held without bond at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail. On the day of his arrest, he faced an additional charge for allegedly attempting to bring a controlled substance into the jail. In June 2022, a Randolph County grand jury returned an indictment against Heath Michael Coberly, charging him with one count of murder and one count of assault during the commission of or attempt to commit a felony. As of that indictment, the case was proceeding through the legal system.
