Staff Report

GALLIPOLIS — Authorities are continuing an investigation into the cause behind a shooting incident at a Gallipolis motel on Sunday that left a man and woman dead.

Gallipolis City Police identified the victims as Christopher S. Madison, 44, Columbus, and Liberty L. Coleman, 37, Gallipolis.

Officers were called to the Regency Inn, formerly the Blue Fountain Motel, at 151 Upper River Road at 8:47 a.m. on a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, police found the man and woman laying in the front yard.

Madison had apparently died of a gunshot wound and Coleman had also been shot, but was still alive.

Coleman was taken by Gallia County EMS to a MedFlight helicopter, which transported her to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington, W.Va. Hospital officials earlier reported that she was in critical condition, but later in the afternoon police were informed by the West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office that she had passed away.

In a news release, Police Chief Clint Patterson said Madison and Coleman had been in a relationship “which had recently been deteriorating.” It is believed that Madison shot Coleman and then turned the weapon on himself. The motive for the shooting is not known, but an investigation continues, Patterson said.

Officers are awaiting a preliminary determination on the cause of Madison’s death from Dr. Daniel H. Whiteley, Gallia County coroner. An autopsy has been scheduled in Montgomery County in the next few days. The West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an investigation into Coleman’s death, Patterson said.

City police were assisted at the scene by Whiteley, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Eric Mulford, the Gallia County Sheriff’s Department and the State Highway Patrol. Patterson expressed his appreciation to those individuals and agencies for their assistance.