Trial Begins in Former Coal Executive’s Death

A trial began this week for the man accused of pulling the trigger in the 2016 fatal shooting of a longtime coal executive. Mingo County Prosecutor Duke Jewell said in opening statements that 22-year-old Anthony Raheem Arriaga of Ohio told police he killed Bennett K. Hatfield in a plan to steal his SUV and sell it for parts. One of Arriaga’s defense attorneys, Jane Moran, said that statement shouldn’t be interpreted as a confession because police didn’t detail the circumstances around it. 20-year-old Brandon Lee Fitzpatrick is also facing charges in the death, and defense attorneys say he could have shot Hatfield, the former Patriot Coal executive.