Kentucky Man Suspected Of Assaulting Woman, Fatally Shooting Second Victim Less Than Mile Away, Authorities Say

A Kentucky man is accused of assaulting a woman in her home and murdering a second victim nearby, authorities said.

Around 1 a.m. on July 23, investigators in Pulaski County said they responded to the residence of the alleged assault victim, who claimed John Stacy, 57, was armed when he broke in and held her against her will, WKYT reported.

Law enforcement then received reports around 11 a.m. the same day of a shooting death nearby. Investigators were able to draw a connection between the earlier assault and the second incident and identify Stacy as a suspect in both cases, according to authorities.

Sergeant Cody Cundiff noted investigators believe Stacy was involved in both incidents less than a mile apart in the remote rural area “because of the timeframe of the events and the fact that both of them happen to be involving a firearm.”

He also credited the first victim with identifying Stacy.

“It was paramount,” Cundiff said of the information the woman provided to detectives. “Without having knowledge of who it was that assaulted her, we wouldn’t have known that it was Stacy that could’ve been involved.”

Stacy faces charges of attempted murder, burglary, assault, and kidnapping in connection to the break in involving the woman, and a murder charge in the second incident, authorities said.

He was being held on $500,000 bond at the Pulaski County Detention Center.