KSP releases names of victims, shooter in Paintsville incident

By Lilly Adkins

BSN Associate Editor

PAINTSVILLE — Kentucky State Police on Monday identified three people who were killed in a shooting incident in Paintsville Friday.

Paula Wells, 56, Richard Morman, 56, and Myrtle Dorton, 36, all of Paintsville, were pronounced dead at the scene by the Johnson County Coroner’s Office.

Ronnie Pack, 21, of Paintsville, is charged with three counts of murder and one count of first-degree wanton endangerment.

According to a press release, KSP Post 9 received a call Friday regarding a shooting in Paintsville. KSP troopers and investigators responded to a residence on Depot Road and found that three individuals had suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of suspected foul play.

Ronnie Pack was identified at the time of the shooting and taken into custody, then transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound before being lodged in the Pike County Detention Center.

The KSP also issued a release earlier Monday stating that its Critical Incident Response Team has been requested to investigate the trooper-involved shooting.

Wells is survived by her father, Kenneth Witten of Frankfort; a son, Dale D. Wells Jr. of Tulsa, Okla.; a brother, Robert Witten of Frankfort; a sister, Rushia Dorton of Van Lear; three step-brothers, Gene Wilburn, William Wilburn and Michael Riddle, all of Frankfort; and two grandchildren.

Funeral services will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at Phelps and Son Funeral Home in Paintsville, with burial in the family cemetery at Van Lear.

Dorton is survived by her mother, Rushia Ann Witten of Van Lear; three sons, Thomas Keith Dorton, Zackery Nathaniel Dorton and Christopher Daniel Hall Jr., all of Paintsville; three daughters, Allisa Dae Price of Huntington, W.Va., and Jasmine Emily Rose Hall and Shaley Renee Hall, both of Paintsville; three brothers, Richard Aaron Dorton of Flat Gap, and Billy Ray Dorton and Dallas Guthrie, both of Paintsville; and a sister, Crafty Dorton of Huntington.

Funeral services will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at Phelps and Son Funeral Home, with burial in the Dorton Family Cemetery at Flat Gap.

Funeral arrangements for Morman were not available at press time Tuesday.