In the late hours of a September evening in Campbellsville, Kentucky, the life of a beloved preacher, Reverend John Harvey Berry, was tragically cut short. On September 24, 2021, Campbellsville Police were dispatched to a residence at 117 South Central Avenue following a report of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered that the 38-year-old male had been shot.
He was rushed to Taylor Regional Hospital, but tragically succumbed to his injuries.
Reverend Berry, a resident of Summersville, was known in his community as a devout Christian and a preacher at the New Water Baptist Church. Beyond his religious commitments, he was a former tooling machinist for the DANA Corporation, where he had worked for over 15 years, and was employed as a service technician for Instant Aire Heating and Cooling at the time of his death. He was also a talented artist, known for his pencil art.
The investigation into the reverend's death quickly focused on a domestic altercation. It was determined that during a dispute with his wife, Katie Morrison, she had shot him. Following the incident, Morrison was arrested by the Campbellsville Police Department.
In the wake of the shooting, Katie Morrison was charged with the murder of her husband. She was subsequently lodged in the Taylor County Detention Center. In November 2021, a Taylor County Grand Jury handed down an indictment against Morrison, formalizing the murder charge. The community was left to mourn the loss of a man described as a friend and dedicated preacher, whose life was ended in a moment of violence.
