In the quiet community of Combs, Kentucky, a grim discovery was made on the afternoon of August 8, 2018. Terry Stidham, a 38-year-old male resident of nearby Busy, was found deceased in his pickup truck parked on the shoulder of Elm Shoal Branch Road. The Perry County 911 dispatch received a call at 2:25 p.m. about a man in a truck with apparent gunshot wounds.
Kentucky State Police, along with Perry County Sheriff's Deputies and emergency medical services, responded to the scene.
Upon arrival, investigators confirmed that Stidham was unresponsive inside his vehicle, having sustained fatal gunshot injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Perry County Deputy Coroner. An autopsy was scheduled for the following day at the State Medical Examiner's Office in Frankfort to determine the exact cause of death. At the time, no other individuals were found at the location, and the investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death began.
Following a thorough investigation that included processing evidence and conducting interviews, the Kentucky State Police made an arrest in connection with the shooting death of Terry Stidham. On August 13, 2018, detectives with KSP Post 13 arrested 37-year-old Harold Hayes of Busy. Hayes was charged with one count of murder and was lodged in the Kentucky River Regional Jail. The investigation into the motive and the events leading up to Stidham's death continued. Terry Malcom Stidham, a diesel mechanic, was survived by his two children, a son and a daughter, and his brother.
