The mother of an aspiring country star was killed in a home invasion stabbing in the family’s home in Virginia’s historic Shenandoah Valley before his father, who was also injured in the attack, grabbed a handgun and fatally shot the attacker, according to local authorities.
The intruder killed Holly Hatcher, a 62-year-old former teacher, before her husband, Michael Hatcher, 65, fired the fatal shot around midnight on Sunday, Aug. 3. Their 31-year-old son Spencer Hatcher, an up-and-coming country singer canceled several upcoming shows as his family deals with his mother’s death.
The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office identified the deceased suspect as 41-year-old Kevin Moses Walker of Pikesville, Maryland, who had no known criminal history, violent or otherwise, aside from a bizarre car crash just two days before the home invasion.
Hutcheson, who said he’s known the family for years, revealed a personal connection to Holly Hatcher.
“My oldest son had Holly as a teacher in school, absolutely loved her, and I’m sure I can speak for many, many other children she taught over the years as to what a wonderful, wonderful teacher and influence on their life that she was,” he said.
Walker entered the home with a “large knife” in a seemingly random and “highly unusual” crime, the sheriff said. Details about what happened inside remain hazy – but Walker fatally stabbed Holly Hatcher before a life-and-death fight with her husband, who had visible wounds when deputies arrived and was wearing a large bandage on his forearm during a public appearance days later.
The struggle ended in the driveway, where he retrieved a loaded pistol from his vehicle and fired a single shot, killing Walker, Hutcheson said.
A potential motive remains under investigation.
