Two young men saw Ben Hatfield's luxury SUV Sunday morning and saw dollar signs, according to police. They could now face life in prison.
Chief Deputy Joe Smith, of the Mingo County Sheriff's Office, said Thursday that Anthony R. Arriaga, of Lima, Ohio, and Brandon Fitzpatrick, of Louisa, Kentucky, had talked about committing a robbery before they saw Hatfield's GMC Yukon Denali in Mountain View Memory Gardens, a cemetery in Mingo County, and decided they had found their target.
Arriaga, 20, and Fitzpatrick, 18, are charged with first-degree murder in Hatfield's death. Fitzpatrick also is charged with conspiracy, Smith said.
Arriaga was arraigned Thursday in Mingo Circuit Court, in Williamson. Circuit Judge Miki Thompson ordered him held without bail and set a preliminary hearing for June 3.
Smith interviewed Arriaga before his arraignment. According to the chief deputy, Arriaga admitted to pulling the trigger.
"He understands he made a mistake," Smith said. "He was cooperative. He was remorseful. He teared up several times during the interview. He's a 20-year-old kid who, within 30 seconds, has destroyed his entire life and another family."
Hatfield's body was found at about 6:30 a.m. Monday, over a hill by a river bank at the cemetery in Maher, outside Williamson.
Police said they believe Hatfield, a longtime coal company executive, was shot in the back Sunday while he cleaned an in-law's grave marker. He already had cleaned the grave of his late wife, Debbie, who died of breast cancer in 2009.
After Hatfield was shot, he was able to make it about 50 to 60 yards away, to the edge of the Tug Fork River, where he collapsed and died.
Police said they believe Fitzpatrick fled the scene in a vehicle. They say Arriaga was supposed to steal the Denali, then meet back up with Fitzpatrick. Instead, they say, Arriaga panicked and ran over a bank, straight into the river.
Arriaga then allegedly paid a nearby resident $45 to drive him to a Rite-Aid in Wayne. Police said they believe he met back up with Fitzpatrick after that, at the Wayne home of Ricky Peterson.
Peterson, 20, has been charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact, obstructing/resisting an officer and providing false information to police. Arriaga allegedly told Peterson about the shooting, and Peterson then allegedly lied to police when they tried to interview him Monday.
Police said they believe Arriaga and Peterson have known each other since they were in the eighth grade in Bowling Green, Ohio. Arriaga met Fitzpatrick through Peterson, according to Smith.
Arriaga bought the handgun he allegedly used to kill Hatfield a few days ago, according to Smith. He said it was for "personal protection."
Arriaga was arrested at about 2 a.m. Tuesday in Delphos, Ohio. He was sitting on the porch with his mother when police found him, Smith said.
After Thursday's arraignment, Arriaga "said he wanted to apologize to that man's family," Smith said.
Fitzpatrick was arrested Wednesday morning on unrelated charges - he allegedly had heroin on him - by the Elsmere (Kentucky) Police Department. He was in the Kenton County Jail, in Kentucky, Thursday afternoon, according to Smith, but will be extradited to West Virginia to face his charges.
When Hatfield was reported missing by his girlfriend, police pinged his cellphone and determined that the closest cell tower was in Martin County, Kentucky.
The sheriff there knows Hatfield's brother, Dennis, and asked him where Ben Hatfield might be in the area. Hatfield's brother was the one who suggested they search the cemetery, and he was with police when they found his brother's body.
"The entire family comes up on Memorial Day," Smith said.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.