New Philadelphia murder suspect makes initial court appearance
NEW PHILADELPHIA – A 26-year-old Fayetteville, North Carolina, man charged with murder made an initial appearance in court Tuesday morning.
Paul Kinlaw is accused of shooting and killing a New Philadelphia man in his Second Street Southwest home on Sunday afternoon.
PAUL WAYNE KINLAW (TCSO)
Kinlaw appeared in municipal court via video from the Tuscarawas County Jail. Magistrate Christine Weimer set his bond at $500,000.
Kinlaw faces two felony counts of murder and one count of felonious assault for the death of 42-year-old Christopher Damron of New Philadelphia. Detective Chad Dorsey says there was an altercation between the men around 4 p.m. on Sunday that concluded with Kinlaw firing two shots that hit Damron. He was pronounced dead at Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital Sunday night.
Dorsey says police arrested Kinlaw about a half a block from the crime scene when responding officers encountered him walking with his hands in the air. They found his gun in the home.
Dorsey says the two men knew each other as Damron’s girlfriend is the mother of Kinlaw’s girlfriend. He would not disclose what Kinlaw said in an interview as possible motivation or defense.
“There was a physical altercation, but I will leave that up to the courts whether they determine there was self defense in play here,” Dorsey said. “In our investigation, we interviewed four witnesses. Their accounts are all very similar as to what took place that night.”
He said the two men disliked each other and had a physical altercation that led to the shooting.