In the late hours of a Wednesday in LaGrange, Kentucky, a domestic dispute escalated to a fatal conclusion, leaving a son dead and his father facing a murder charge. On November 27, 2019, 42-year-old William 'Billy' O'Daniel, a male, was shot and killed. The incident occurred at a residence on Walnut Hill Road. Kentucky State Police were dispatched to the home shortly before 6:30 p.m. following a report of a shooting.
Upon their arrival, they discovered William O'Daniel deceased from a gunshot wound.
The investigation that followed quickly identified the suspect as William's own father, 71-year-old Joseph L. O'Daniel. According to police, the shooting was the result of a domestic altercation between the two men. Joseph O'Daniel was arrested at the scene and later admitted to firing five rounds from a. 38 caliber handgun, which resulted in his son's death. An arrest report indicated that Joseph O'Daniel stated his son was walking away from him at the time he fired the fatal shots.
Following the incident, Joseph O'Daniel was charged with murder in connection with his son's death. He was taken into custody and booked at the Oldham County Detention Center. A judge set his bond at $1 million. The case highlighted a tragic instance of domestic violence that ended in a family being irrevocably broken by loss and incarceration. William O'Daniel, remembered as a landscaper who loved the outdoors, was survived by his wife and two children.
