A Morgantown man is in jail on first-degree murder charges stemming from the April 19 shooting death of his wife at a residence on Falling Water Lane in Cheat Lake.
On Thursday, Rick Allen Cordes, 49, of Morgantown, was charged with first-degree murder for the death of his wife, Jennifer L. Hribar, 39, of Morgantown.
Cordes is said to have placed the 911 call following the shooting and was still on scene when deputies arrived.
Hribar was pronounced dead at the scene when emergency responders arrived.
The Dominion Post obtained the criminal complaint filed by Detective Sgt. Stephen Currie, with the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department. It indicated investigators have the alleged firearm used in the shooting, a Taurus .44 caliber revolver, which contained two spent shell casings and three unfired bullets.
Currie reported that Hribar appeared to have sustained at least one gunshot wound. It was later found that she was shot in the back of the head.
Cordes provided multiple statements to 911 dispatchers, first responders and detectives in which his version of events directly before and when the victim was shot changed several times, according to Currie.
In a statement to detectives, Cordes allegedly said that he had contact with the grip of the revolver and that “it was possible that either his or both of their fingers pulled the trigger.”
During the investigation, detectives spoke with staff at the Lake House Restaurant and Tropics Restaurant and Bar, both of which Cordes and Hribar visited the evening of the shooting.
Through staff statements and upon reviewing surveillance footage from the two establishments, investigators found that arguments took place between the couple at both locations — first Tropics, then the Lake House.
According to the complaint, Cordes appeared to be the predominant aggressor during the arguments and his actions concerned staff members to the point they were monitoring his actions in fear that it may become physical.
Following an autopsy performed by the chief medical examiner’s office, it was determined that Hribar’s manner of death was a homicide. The detective’s investigation was consistent with that determination.
Cordes was arraigned in Monongalia County Magistrate Court Thursday before Magistrate Jim Nabors. No bond was set at the hearing. He is currently scheduled for a preliminary hearing May 6 in circuit court.
According to a press release from Sheriff Perry Palmer, the investigation is still ongoing and additional information was not released Thursday afternoon.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 304-291-7260.
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