On August 20, 2006, inmate William Morva was taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital for treatment of minor injuries while awaiting trial on attempted armed robbery charges. At the hospital Morva overpowered a deputy, used a metal toilet-paper container to knock the deputy unconscious and stole the deputy’s firearm. Morva then shot and killed hospital security guard Derrick McFarland, who had attempted to intervene.

A massive manhunt followed. On the morning of August 21, 2006, Corporal Eric Evine Sutphin, a 40-year-old veteran with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, encountered Morva on the Huckleberry Trail near the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg while participating in the search. Morva ambushed and fatally shot Sutphin in the back of the head. Morva was captured later that day hiding in a briar patch near the scene.

William Morva was charged with capital murder in the deaths of Corporal Sutphin and Derrick McFarland; prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty. What details about Morva’s state of mind or motive remain unanswered to readers with information?