A veteran U.S. postal worker who was found dead in his Powhatan County home after authorities say he shot and wounded three family members died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, a Powhatan prosecutor said Wednesday.
At the time of his death, Raymond Morlock Jr., 56, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.174, or more than two times the legal limit for driving, said Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Cerullo of the state medical examiner’s findings in Morlock’s death.
“The case is closed and no charges will be filed,” Cerullo said. “We would have charged him for everything he did [had he survived]. There’s no question now that no one [used a weapon] against him.”
“Witnesses revealed that Mr. Morlock had been drinking that night when he became upset about one of the witnesses being at the house who he did not want there,” Cerullo said. “This led to a domestic dispute between Mr. Morlock and the other family members which unfortunately led to Mr. Morlock retrieving his weapon and shooting at the folks in the house.”
Morlock, a postal service mail handler with 33 years of service, had been charged four years earlier with two counts of domestic assault in an incident involving his wife and stepdaughter.
