NEW LISBON
MAN DEAD, 2ND
IN COUNTY JAIL
Suspect Facing Murder Count
NEW LISBON – One New Lisbon man is dead and another in the county jail today on charges of murder, second degree, and assault, Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr. reported a few minutes ago.
At 8:47 p.m. last evening, a 911 call was received from Perry J. Webb, 59, and deputies and state troopers were dispatched to a home on 393 Wheat Road, Devlin said in a press release.
On arriving, a deputy found one man dead – Arthur R. Bellinger, 63, who lived at 393 Wheat – and another man injured, as well as Webb. The preliminary investigation, Devlin said, indicated Webb had assaulted both victims, Bellinger fatally.
Wheat Road is a right turn off Route 14 (the New Lisbon-Hartwick route), about a mile northeast of the New Lisbon hamlet.
The first-degree murder charged is reserved for slayings of police and prison guards, so second-degree murder is the most serious charge that may be brought in this case.
Otsego County Coroner Terry Knapp has been assigned the case and an autopsy is pending. Also, District Attorney John Muehl was called in.
The injured man, who police did not identify, was transported to Bassett Hospital by Garrattsville EMS, where he was treated and released.
This is the second murder case in Otsego County this year, where slayings are rare. In the wee hours of New Year’s Day, Joseph P. Underwood, 25, allegedly killed Mark J. Morrison, 52, in their downtown Oneonta apartment.
First degree murder is not reserved for slayings of prison guards and police. It’s a charge reserved for an intentional murder. Murder with malice. Premeditated. The death in this case occurred as the result of some form of fight/dispute, it was not a planned murder therefore it falls into the second degree category.
He must of had a reason
Right…. I’m sure that out of shape old man did something real bad to get murdered … Not