UPDATE: Elderly Man Found Dead in Boone County; Name Released

UPDATE: Elderly Man Found Dead in Boone County; Name Released

(WSAZ Photo / Lauren Denney)

UPDATE 9/27/2012 @ 6:30 p.m.
BOONE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The body of 71-year-old murder victim Jimmie Cooper was badly decomposed when deputies found it. The Boone County Sheriff says that could have delayed the case, but thanks to family members, he's already interviewing several people. And while they're not suspects yet, Sheriff Rodney Miller says that could quickly change.

In the meantime: neighbors like Casey Halsted are still trying to accept a crime they never expected.

“It's mind boggling a little bit,” Halsted said.

Cooper’s remains were found late Wednesday night inside his home just off Route 3. Casey says even though Cooper was elderly, he was a fighter.

“He's the type of man wouldn't stand back for nobody,” Halsted said. “He'd stand his ground.”

The Boone County Sheriff says sometime in the last week, someone forced their way inside Coopers home and killed him. He thinks Cooper was targeted.

“We don't think it's something that's random,” Sheriff Miller said. “We don't think it's something that people are going to go from home to home and continue the violence.”

Even for his deputies, cases like this are hard to swallow.

“You've got a 71 year old fellow that was living by himself just trying to live out his life as comfortable as possible,” Sheriff Miller said.

The Sheriff says Cooper was a veteran, and worked as a part time security guard up until he was killed. Neighbors tell WSAZ.com he had also been a minister, and he loved people.

“He was a good going person,” Halsted said. “He’d talk to anybody. Or help them.”

Now, Halsted and his family are left trying to make sense of a senseless crime and hoping the killer is brought to justice.

Sheriff Miller says Cooper’s car was found Thursday in Putnam County. His office is investigating how exactly it wound up there.