On May 10, 2020, Charles Ryan Cottle, a 29-year-old resident of Parkersburg, West Virginia, was fatally shot at his family home located at 1324 Broadway Avenue. The incident involved a violent altercation between Cottle and his brother, William Allen Nutter.
William Allen Nutter, 41 at the time of the incident and originally from Chickopee, Massachusetts, was identified as the suspect in the shooting.
According to the police and testimonies, Nutter had been living with his brother and their mother, Mae Cottle, at the Broadway Avenue residence. On the day of the incident, Nutter was reportedly in a state of agitation, described by his mother as 'raging' through the house, kicking Ryan Cottle's door open multiple times, and yelling at her. This behavior escalated to Nutter physically assaulting his mother, resulting in her sustaining a busted lip and bleeding.
In response to Nutter's assault on their mother, Charles Ryan Cottle intervened, armed with a Spudbar. The altercation between the two brothers moved downstairs, where it became increasingly violent. Nutter claimed that he was attacked by his brother with the Spudbar and felt his life was in danger, leading him to defend himself. He stated that he saw his brother with the prybar and a gun, although the gun was later identified as Nutter's own Taurus 9mm handgun.
During the trial, Nutter testified that he was struck in the back by his brother and, in the ensuing struggle, managed to gain control of the handgun. He then fired the gun multiple times, with 10 out of 11 shots hitting Ryan Cottle in the torso and hip area. The gun jammed at one point, but Nutter cleared the jam and continued firing. This testimony was corroborated by forensic evidence, including gunshot residue found on Nutter and the presence of spent shell casings near Ryan Cottle's body.
Mae Cottle, the mother of both men, testified that she heard shots fired in the house and saw Nutter shooting a pistol in the kitchen multiple times. She also reported that Nutter had struck her before the altercation with Ryan Cottle began.
Following the shooting, Nutter called 911 to report the incident. When police arrived, they found Ryan Cottle's body against the back door of the house, and Nutter was taken into custody. Nutter was charged with first-degree murder in connection with his brother's death and was held at the North Central Regional Jail.
The trial, which took place in Wood County Circuit Court before Judge Jason Wharton, saw extensive testimony from various witnesses, including retired Parkersburg Police Detective Doug Sturm and experts from the West Virginia State Police Lab. The defense argued that Nutter acted in self-defense, while the prosecution alleged that Nutter intentionally murdered his brother. Despite the defense's claims, the prosecution highlighted inconsistencies in Nutter's story and the lack of evidence supporting his self-defense narrative, such as the absence of blood on the Spudbar and the minimal disturbance in the room where the altercation supposedly took place.
Ultimately, the jury did not convict Nutter on the charge of first-degree murder but instead opted for a lesser charge, although the specific details of the conviction are not specified in the available sources.
