Beginning in the summer of 2008, Powhatan was shaken by a rash of violence that would eventually leave four people dead. Perhaps as tragic as any other aspects of the violence was the fact that two of the murders involved one family member killing another. Last week, both of those cases went before the court.

On Aug. 29, Randolph Szenasy shot and killed David McCoy. The cause of the fight: sold timber rights.

Randolph A. Szenasy was led into court unshackled Feb. 2 to face charges of first degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the August 29, 2008 shooting death of Earl David McCoy.

McCoy, 48, and his wife, Kathleen McCoy, lived in a home at 6300 Old Buckingham Road in Powhatan on land the couple shared with Kathleen McCoy’s brothers, Andrew and Randolph Szenasy. According to testimony, timber rights for the family’s land were sold to provide revenue to pay property taxes.

Randolph Szenasy, 54, allegedly took exception to the sale and voiced his frustration to McCoy in the early morning hours of August 29.

Kenny Matney, a friend of McCoy and Szenasy, told the court he was with the brothers-in-law the night before the shooting. He testified, that while holding a pistol, Szenasy told McCoy, “I’ve got something for you,” referencing the timber harvest that was planned to begin that day. McCoy reportedly tried telling Szenasy that he was not benefiting financially from the deal- that Szenasy’s siblings had arranged the sale.

Randolph A. Szenasy

A few hours later, Kathleen and David McCoy were eating breakfast at the home the Szenasy brothers shared on the family property.

A neighbor, Hibbert Matney, was there that morning and testified that McCoy and Szenasy were “arguing about trees,” and at some point Randolph entered the home and returned to the front porch with a pistol behind his back. Matney said he was unable to take the gun from Szenasy and pleaded with him not to do anything.

Kathleen McCoy was on the front porch also. She said in court that her husband approached the front steps and Randolph told him to leave, but McCoy continued towards him.
“Then Dave put his foot up another step and said ‘shoot me,’” Kathleen told the court. “I screamed ‘no’ and put my hands over my ears, and that’s when I heard the shot.”

Houston and Burnett Jeter, also longtime neighbors of the Szenasys and McCoys, went to the home a short time after the shooting and said McCoy was on the ground in front of the porch, and Szenasy was on the porch in a chair, drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette. The gun, Szenasy told them, was inside the house on a coffee table.

Dr. Sandra Thomas, a Forensic Pathology Fellow with the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office conducted McCoy’s autopsy. She told the court the victim suffered three gun shot wounds- one to the right arm, one to the right chest and one to the abdomen. The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to the torso.

It was also noted in her testimony that the shots were fired from an “intermediate range … close enough to deposit soot on the victim’s clothing.”

After the Commonwealth rested, Defense Attorney William R. Blandford made a motion to reduce the charge against Szenasy to voluntary manslaughter, arguing the absence of rage and the presence of intoxicants eliminated premeditation.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Beasley disagreed.

“Randolph was angry about the timber deal, he thought Dave was getting something over on him, and he killed him in cold blood.”

The court denied the defense’s motion and found Randolph Szenasy guilty of first degree murder and felony use of a firearm. He will be sentenced next court term following a presentencing report.

A violent encounter, triggered by a debt, cost one man his life and the other his freedom.

David Woodfin Jr. described his uncle as a “father figure” who repeatedly took him in and gave him a job. But testimony Friday also showed Donald Malkemus Jr. to be harsh and extremely demanding of his nephew; and one night last summer, a relationship streaked with emotional abuse ended sadly. 

Onlookers crowded the Powhatan Circuit Court room Friday, to witness a man tried for the August 2008 murder of his uncle.

David Woodfin Jr., 22, pleaded not guilty to first degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the August 1 shooting death of Donald Malkemus Jr., 49.

“This is not a who-done-it case,” defense attorney Cary Bowen told the court at the start of trial. “There’s no question about who the shooter was. Instead, it is the nature of the offense” that demands consideration.

Jandelyn Onufur was with Woodfin the night of the shooting. She and Woodfin were, according to testimony, in the woods behind his grandparents’ house walking her dog, when Malkemus’ truck pulled in the driveway.

David Woodfin Jr.

Woodfin didn’t want to see his uncle and was adamant about “staying where we were,” said Onufur, because of a $2,500 loan he owed Malkemus.

But Onufur said she insisted they “head back to her car.”

She said Malkemus initiated a verbal altercation with his nephew, “then Donald attacked David,” said Onufur. “He had him by the throat and was yelling at David about money.”
Testimonies differed slightly, but at some point, Malkemus released his nephew.

“We don’t need to fight like this. I’ll get you the money,” Onufur remembered Woodfin telling his uncle. As he walked from the driveway to the house, “he kept saying ‘I love you. You’re my uncle.’” Other witnesses recall Woodfin muttering the same words.

According to evidence, Woodfin entered his grandparents’ home through the side door, walked to his room, and retrieved a loaded 12 gauge shotgun from under his mattress.

Onufur said she saw Woodfin exit the front door with a “long gun”, walk down the sidewalk, kneel and shoot three times at his uncle’s truck as it started to back down the driveway.
Special Agent T.C. Collins of the Virginia State Police was brought in to handle the crime scene.

He said he found three Remington 12 gauge shell casings about 12 feet from the victim. The shots entered the truck’s open driver’s side window and struck Donald Malkemus Jr. in the upper body.

That night, when authorities arrived at the home on French Hill Drive, the gun was under the mattress and Woodfin was gone. He fled the property on foot after the shooting.

David Woodfin Jr. took the stand Friday afternoon- the defense’s last witness. He said he was “mad, embarrassed, and scared” after the confrontation in the driveway- that the shots were “meant to scare” his uncle. He said he didn’t remember pulling the trigger and “didn’t think he’d hit Donald.” He ran, he said, because he was scared of what his uncle would do.

Before the defense rested, Bowen again motioned to reduce the charge from first degree murder to manslaughter.

“This is the exact situation that makes heat of passion arise,” Bowen argued.

Judge Thomas V. Warren found Woodfin guilty of second degree murder and felony use of a firearm. Second degree murder carries a five to 40 year prison sentence.
“Well things could have been worse,” said Donald Malkemus Sr., Woodfin’s grandfather and the victim’s father.

The court ordered a pre-sentencing report, and Woodfin will return next term for sentencing. Bowen said he hopes his client will receive ten years or less plus three years for the firearms charge.

“We can’t complain,” Bowen said after the trial. “I’ve believed it was a second degree murder or manslaughter case the whole time.”