Detectives with the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office are continuing to investigate a reported assault that occurred last week at a Whitesville business. Sheriff Brad Youngman said progress has been made in narrowing the timeline and piecing together witness accounts, though social media speculation remains a challenge.
“As of right now, detectives are continuing to go through the information that’s been provided to us from the public,” Youngman said. “There’s been a lot of information, including a lot of video from the area that pertains to the timeline that we put out. Detectives worked all weekend long on this case, just trying to really narrow down who was in that area and what people can tell us.”
The incident occurred at the former Black Cat Bar in the 11000 block of KY 54. Youngman confirmed the 911 call came from a customer who walked in to pick up shirts and discovered the victim. The incident was first reported as a medical call before dispatchers realized it may be a criminal assault. The victim was treated at the scene by members of the Daviess County and Whitesville fire departments before being transported by AMR Ambulance Service to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital.
Youngman said investigators have been reviewing surveillance from multiple locations as well as mobile video from vehicles in the area. That evidence has helped them shrink the scope of their investigation.
“We’re actually narrowing the timeline even further than the one hour,” Youngman said. “Detectives have really done a good job of finding out who some of the last people were in that store prior to the report of an attack, and that’s really helped a lot … When we’re able to narrow this down to less than an hour, that really filters out a lot of information that may or may not apply. You start getting into more valuable information at that point.”
He added that detectives will continue conducting interviews this week.
“Everybody you talk to, oftentimes, they give you more information, which is what you want,” said DCSO Captain Jeff Payne. “That information leads to additional people to talk to. We still feel really good about where we’re at and where we’re heading.”
As with many high-profile cases, online discussion has spread widely in the aftermath. Youngman cautioned against relying on unofficial sources. The Sheriff’s Office has previously clarified that they are not seeking information about a white pickup truck and have not released any description of a suspect.
“In any case where social media starts to play a role, some of the information is inaccurate,” he said. “That’s why we ask people to trust updates on our Facebook page and from legitimate media sources. I’m not going to say that all the stuff on social media is inaccurate, but a lot of it is — especially in the comment sections. Some of the stuff (being said by the public), we’re just kind of shocked at what we’re seeing.”
Payne added that the close-knit nature of Whitesville has contributed to both the attention and the investigation.
“Everybody knows everybody up there,” Payne said. “They know what vehicles belong and what doesn’t belong. That helps a lot … Unfortunately, when misinformation is put out there, it spreads just as quickly as good information spreads.”
Youngman said community input has already been overwhelming, and detectives now have plenty to work through.
“At this point, if someone has something they know they want to share with us, we absolutely welcome that,” he said. “But starting this past weekend, detectives were going through that information, and they have a lot to comb through. We’re not specifically asking for additional information beyond what we’ve already requested.”
Anyone with information can contact DCSO at [email protected], message the DCSO Facebook page, or call Crime Stoppers at 270-687-8484.
