Aug. 13 – A probable cause of death was determined Monday in Monongalia County Superior Court in the case of the Cheat Lake man accused of the April 19 shooting death of his wife.
Rick Allen Cordes, 49, of Morgantown, was charged with first-degree murder on April 25 after Jennifer L. Hribar, 39, was killed in an apparent brawl involving a Taurus .44 revolver at the couple’s Falling Water Lane home.
According to court documents and statements made during Monday’s preliminary hearing, Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department detectives found the couple arguing at two different restaurants in Cheat Lake prior to the shooting, in which Cordes was the primary perpetrator.
Cordes is said to have given conflicting statements to dispatchers, emergency workers and detectives about how Hribar was shot.
After an autopsy performed by the chief medical examiner’s office, Hribar’s death was determined to be a homicide. She suffered a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
Testifying on Monday, Detective Sgt Stephen Currie said he was 100 percent certain the trigger was not pulled by the victim.
The case now goes before a Monongalia County Grand Jury.
