In the early morning hours of August 27, 2020, a tragic event unfolded in Abingdon, Virginia, resulting in the death of 24-year-old Trevor Alexander Sweat. Authorities were called to a residence on Peaceful Valley Road around 6 a.m. where they discovered a grim scene. Trevor, a white male from Bristol, Tennessee, along with 38-year-old Misty Dawn Bishop of Bristol, Virginia, had both sustained fatal gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident, which authorities
believe stemmed from a family argument, took place at a home that had a history of police responses and was known as a 'nuisance house.' When deputies from the Washington County Sheriff's Office arrived, they found 29-year-old Albert Lee Ricketson of Abingdon at the residence, armed with a firearm. Ricketson complied with the officers' commands to drop his weapon and was taken into custody without further incident.
Following the initial investigation, Albert Lee Ricketson was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Trevor Alexander Sweat and Misty Dawn Bishop. He also faced charges of two counts of the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. During the incident, a juvenile present at the scene was reportedly bitten by Ricketson and required medical treatment. Ricketson was subsequently held without bond at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Abingdon as the case against him began to move through the legal system.
