On a Saturday morning in January 2015, a quiet nursing home in Fishersville, Virginia, became the scene of a tragedy. Within the walls of the Shenandoah Nursing & Rehab, 83-year-old Betty Jane Knight, a female resident, lost her life in a shocking act of violence. The perpetrator was her 84-year-old husband, Weldon Knight.
The Augusta County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 call from the facility around 11:00 a.m. on January 24th.
Upon arrival, deputies discovered the bodies of the long-married couple in Betty's private room. Investigators quickly determined that Weldon had fatally shot his wife before turning the gun on himself.
The incident was contained to the single room, and no other residents or staff were harmed or threatened. Betty had been a resident at the rehabilitation center since the previous October. The motive for the murder-suicide was not immediately clear, though authorities were looking into the physical and mental conditions of both individuals. The couple had been married for 63 years. As the investigation concluded, the case was classified as a murder-suicide, with Weldon Knight as the sole suspect in the death of his wife.
