Jefferson man dead, uncle charged with murder

JEFFERSON - A Jefferson man is dead and his uncle is in jail facing a murder charge after an domestic incident Monday.<br /> <br /> Jefferson Police Chief Joe Wirthman said one of his officers was called to 627 Gordon Street around 9:45 p.m. Monday.<br /> <br /> "[He] found an unresponsive black male laying on the ground," said Wirthman. "EMS was notified...my officer tried to do CPR. They took him down to Athens Regional where he was pronounced deceased."<br /> <br /> Wirthman identified the victim as Phillip Cowan.<br /> <br /> He said the suspect, 51-year-old James Harrison, Sr., was located Monday night, but he was not formally charged with Cowan's death until Wednesday. <br /> <br /> Wirthman said Harrison is the uncle of the victim. While he did not know specifically what led to the stabbing, Wirthman said the incident apparently stemmed from a domestic dispute.<br /> <br /> "We've had four murders in the eight years since I've been here and they've all been domestic related," said Wirthman. "Domestic violence is a bad thing - it's rampant throughout the country...it's hard to stop."

http://accesswdun.com/article/2014/8/278007