An investigation is continuing into the death of a Campbell County man found shot to death in his Leewood Road home Sunday morning.
Wilbur West, 69, was found by members of his church who had become concerned because he was not at the church for the service, which was out of character for him.
According to Capt. L.T. Guthrie of the Campbell County Sheriff’s Department, West had been dead for more than 24 hours. A more precise time of death is likely to be determined after an autopsy is performed in Roanoke.
His death is the first homicide in Campbell County this year, said Guthrie.
West, of Lynch Station, was active in the Lynch Station Baptist Church.
The congregation is in shock, said the Rev. Rick Dellinger, who has preached at the church a number of times since the regular minister’s death last year.
The congregation, which usually has about 75 people in attendance on Sundays, is one in which “everybody knows everybody’s name,” he said.
Dellinger, a pulpit supply preacher, first preached at the church last November after the Rev. Kenny Wilson was killed in a motorcycle accident.
Wilbur West was not a flashy, high-profile kind of person, said Dellinger. “He was a silent soldier.”
“What he did, he did very well,” said Dellinger. “We spoke in church this morning about him.”
West did many tasks for the church including taking care of the sound system.
The men’s chorus group usually meets for practice at 9 a.m., and Sunday, when he wasn’t there, they knew something was wrong, said Dellinger, who arrived at about 10:30 a.m.
“Wilbur was normally the first one there, almost like setting their clock.”
“Wilbur was the guy that unlocked all the doors, the guy that made sure everything was set and ready for the preacher every Sunday morning.”
He was, said Dellinger, “a giving person.”
A member of the chorus group then went to check on West, who lived alone, and found him near the front door.
“I think it is difficult to understand anything like that could happen,” said Dellinger. “You like to believe the world just can’t be that bad — but there needs to be forgiveness.”
Guthrie asks that anyone with information call Central Virginia Crime Stoppers at (888) 798-5900.
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