In the winter of 2021, the community of Oak Hall, Virginia, was shaken by the discovery of the body of 44-year-old Maurice Lamont Fiddermon. A male resident of Temperanceville, his life was cut short in a field behind a residence on Lankford Highway. On the morning of December 6th, the Accomack County Sheriff's Office responded to a report that led them to the tragic scene. Fiddermon was found unresponsive, having suffered from apparent gunshot wounds, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into his death was immediately launched as a suspicious death and a possible homicide.
The investigation soon connected Fiddermon's death to a wider crime spree. A suspect, Gary Joseph Fleig Sr., a 46-year-old poultry plant worker with a history of various criminal offenses, was arrested in connection with Fiddermon's murder and another homicide that occurred just days prior. Fleig was charged with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for his role in Fiddermon's death. As the legal process unfolded, an Accomack Grand Jury indicted Fleig on these charges, solidifying the case against him.
Ultimately, Gary Joseph Fleig Sr. pleaded guilty to the murder of Maurice Lamont Fiddermon, as well as a host of other charges related to his crime spree, which was reportedly motivated by a need for drug money. In a plea agreement, he admitted to the second-degree murder of Fiddermon. For his crimes, which also included the murder of another individual, arson, and robbery, Fleig was sentenced to 40 active years in prison. During the sentencing, it was revealed that Fleig claimed he shot Fiddermon because he believed he had a gun during an argument, a claim for which there was no evidence. His conviction brought a close to the legal chapter of a tragic and violent series of events that cost Maurice Lamont Fiddermon his life.
