In the small community of Depoy, near Greenville, Kentucky, a tragic event unfolded that would leave a lasting scar on the tight-knit town. Joey T. Vincent, a 29-year-old male police officer with the Greenville Police Department, was killed in an act of revenge by his own cousin. Vincent, who was also a minister at the New Cypress Baptist Church, was a respected member of the community and an eight-year veteran of the police force.
The incident was rooted in a family's attempt to get
help for a troubled relative. Just a week prior to the fatal events, Joey Vincent had assisted in serving a mental health warrant on his cousin, Terry Todd Wedding, 27. This action was taken after Wedding's parents grew concerned about his mental state, and Vincent had volunteered for the assignment, believing a familiar face might ease the process for his cousin. After a 72-hour involuntary commitment, Wedding was released from a state hospital.
In the days following his release, a sense of foreboding settled over the family. Joey Vincent's wife, Amy, expressed fear, feeling as though she was being watched. The horrifying culmination of this fear came to pass on a Sunday morning. As Joey and Amy Vincent were in their driveway preparing to take their young daughter to the emergency room, Terry Wedding ambushed them. From a window in his mother's house next door, Wedding opened fire with a rifle, striking Officer Vincent in the head. He then crossed the yard and shot and killed Amy Vincent as well.
The violence did not end there. It was later discovered that Wedding had also murdered his own parents, Todd and Beverly Wedding. His father was bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat, and his mother was shot. After killing the Vincents, Wedding took their daughter hostage. He surrendered to the police several hours later. In February 2001, Terry Todd Wedding pleaded guilty but mentally ill to four counts of murder to avoid the death penalty. He was subsequently sentenced to four life terms in prison without the possibility of parole. The couple's daughter was found unharmed at the scene.
