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A Clay County man faces a murder charge in connection to the April 16 shooting death of Paul Madison Purvis, 47, of Hayesville.
Purvis’ body was found Saturday at the end of the driveway of his home on Mountain Laurel Drive, according to Clay County Sheriff Bobby Deese.
Ryan Weston James, 33, of Hayesville has been charged with murder in Purvis’ death and is being held in the Clay County Detention Center under a $1 million bond.
Deese said a 911 call came in at 8:44 p.m. in reference to a report of someone being shot. When deputies arrived Purvis was deceased. Preliminary reports point to a single gunshot wound to the head as the cause of death.
James had fled the scene of the shooting, but deputies arrested him a short time later.
Deese said he could not discuss further details surrounding the shooting including a possible motive or whether James is denying the charge, but the sheriff confirmed there were witnesses. “There were three other people present at the time the incident occurred,” he said.
While James’ initial court date has been set for April 25, the shooting death remains under investigation and the conclusion could take awhile.
“Cases like this take a tremendous amount of time and resources and is not something that is done overnight,” Deese said. “Even with what may appear to be clearcut evidence there is so much that goes on behind the scenes for weeks and months.”