Wallace Cornett, a 63-year-old retired coal miner from the rural Viper community in Perry County, Kentucky, was fatally shot at close range with a shotgun inside a residence on Middle Fork of Maces Creek Road on Monday, July 7, 2025, just before 2 p.m. Authorities from the Perry County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and an autopsy was scheduled at the state medical examiner’s office in Frankfort to provide further forensic detail.

A 16-year-old male was arrested the following day and charged with murder; the teenager’s name has not been released because of his age. Motive and the precise sequence of events leading to the shooting remain under investigation. Cornett was active in his church, the Upper Middle Fork Church of Christ, enjoyed fishing and spending time with his grandchildren, and was the son of the late Wallace Cornett and Elzira Brashear Cornett.

Does anyone in the Viper area have information about Cornett’s activities or who might have been with him on July 7?