The Greenland man accused of shooting and killing his wife and mother-in-law pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges at an arraignment Wednesday (Feb. 13).
During a brief hearing at the Washington County Detention Center, Mandrake Patterson, wearing orange-and-white horizontally striped jail garb, was given an April 12 court date by Magistrate Judge Ray Reynolds.
Not-guilty pleas are common at arraignments, allowing a felony case to proceed to trial.
Washington County Prosecutor John Threet filed formal charges early Tuesday afternoon against Patterson, who remains in the Washington County Detention Center without bond.
Threet submitted two counts of capital murder charges and one count of attempted capital murder, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Patterson, 27, has an arraignment set in Washington County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
Patterson was arrested Jan. 10 on suspicion of killing two people and injuring his wife’s aunt at 1037 N. Main St. in Greenland.
Patterson’s mother-in-law, Betty Desalvo, 53, was pronounced dead after the shooting. His wife, Hope Patterson, 34, died later at Washington Regional Medical Center, according to a news release from the Greenland Police Department.
A third woman, Denise Fulfer, 55, was in critical but stable condition at Washington Regional Medical Center. Desalvo and Fulfer are sisters.
Patterson made a voluntary statement to Greenland police and confessed to being involved in the shooting, according to a probable cause preliminary report from the Washington County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Police responded to a domestic disturbance call at the Elmwood Apartments on Main Street at 8:46 p.m., authorities said.
“It was a domestic dispute that went bad,” said Police Chief Gary Ricker.
All those involved lived at the address where the shooting occurred, according to the news release.
Police said there was fifth person who also lived in the apartment who witnessed the shooting and is being questioned by police.
Greenland police said a shotgun was used in the shootings.
Police said they have responded to disturbance calls at the home in the past.
Ricker said it’s been a while since something like this has happened in the city of Greenland.
“The last murder we had before this was probably about 10 years ago, and I`ve been police chief for 21 years. And this is only the second time that something like this happened,” Ricker said.
