A Woodbine man accused of fatally shooting his brother-in-law earlier this month will now have his case presented to a Whitley County grand jury.
John Robert Lang, 34, faces a lone count of murder in the death of Richard Willoughby, 43, of Lexington. Lang allegedly fatally shot Willoughby during an altercation at his home on Jan. 4.
Lang appeared in Whitley District Court on Monday for a preliminary hearing, where Whitley County Chief Deputy Tony Dingess presented the court with testimony regarding the case. According to Dingess, a 911 call was made by a woman he identified as Katie Willoughby, who is Lang’s sister, claiming that he had shot her husband inside a home on E. KY-6.
Dingess said he was off-duty when the call came through, but he was dispatched to the scene to investigate. Upon arriving at the scene, Dingess said that he learned there had been a series of verbal arguments at the residence throughout the evening, revolving around alleged marital infidelity, drug use and other issues.
Lang allegedly had dried blood on him when Dingess made contact with him. Lang provided Dingess with a statement, allegedly claiming that the shooting was accidental.
“He stated that there was a verbal altercation between himself and the victim and that there was a handgun lying on the table in the kitchen. He wanted to obtain that handgun because the heated argument and wanted to put it up. Once he obtained the firearm, [Lang] stated that the victim was in his face and the firearm went off and struck the victim,” said Dingess.
Richard Willoughby suffered a single gunshot wound to the head. According to Dingess, the bullet entered Richard Willoughby’s head just below the left side of his chin and came out the back of his head before becoming lodged in a wall.
An autopsy was performed on Richard Willoughby’s body by the state medical examiner in Frankfort. Dingess said that the preliminary autopsy report listed the cause of death as a homicide.
A 9mm pistol, a spent casing and a single projectile were seized from the home following an initial investigation.
No type of toxicology or blood tests were performed on Lang, according to Dingess. However, Dingess did confirm that police had been at the same E. KY-6 residence earlier that day after a 911 call from Lang’s fiancé. According to Dingess, Lang’s fiancé told police that Lang was heavily intoxicated and that she was worried about the children in the home because he had possession of a gun and had allegedly fired a round into the air outside.
Dingess said that no casings or projectiles were located during the visit earlier in the day.
Following Monday’s testimony, Judge Fred White made a probable cause find, sending the case on to a Whitley County grand jury, where prosecutors will attempt to indict Lang on his charge.
Lang remains jailed in the Whitley County Detention Center in lieu of a $1 million cash bond.
