No charges will be placed in the May 23 death of a Waynesboro man, after police and Commonwealth’s Attorney David Ledbetter determined that it was the result of self-defense.
Marshall Elwood Staton Jr., 59, was found dead from apparent stab wounds after officers had been called to a residence on Yale Driver to investigate a reported active domestic violence situation.
The investigation into what had transpired leading to the determined that Staton had forcibly entered the residence of his 57-year-old ex-girlfriend and assaulted her and her 31-year old son with a wooden baseball bat, striking them multiple times, causing blunt force head injuries.
During the course of this attack, Staton was stabbed multiple times with a knife in self-defense, according to police.
The ex-girlfriend and her son were transported to Augusta Health, where they were treated and then released.
Staton was pronounced dead at the scene, and the state medical examiner has determined that Staton’s death was a result of the stabbings.
Staton sustained a total of three puncture wounds, one of which was determined by the medical examiner to be fatal. All of the puncture wounds were consistent with a knife that was recovered by detectives from the scene of the crime.
The PD and Ledbetter, in a joint statement late Friday, indicated that they are declining to pursue criminal charges at this time, though the investigation remains open pending receipt of laboratory results from the Department of Forensic Science on evidence gathered from the residence.
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Chris Graham
