By Jackie Ayres
A Bradley man and his son were arrested Wednesday on multiple charges, including attempted murder, after they allegedly slit the throat of the man’s 73-year-old mother and told her they were going to throw her off the New River Gorge Bridge, police said.
Michael Burnette, 47, and his 21-year-old son Christoper, also of Bradley, were charged with attempted murder, malicious wounding, conspiracy to commit a felony and kidnapping.
They were arraigned before Raleigh County Magistrate Steve Massie and were being held at Southern Regional Jail on $1 million bond each.
The victim, the mother of Michael Burnette and grandmother of Christoper Burnette, was reported to be in stable condition at Raleigh General Hospital, officials said.
The incident was reported around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dave Stafford.
Stafford said it allegedly started when the father and son caused a disturbance at the victim’s residence at 387 Maple Lane in Bradley.
Shortly after, the suspects slit the woman’s throat, bound her and covered her with plastic, Stafford said.
They then threw her in the back of a pickup truck and headed toward Fayette County, stating they were going to throw her off the New River Gorge Bridge, Stafford said.
The woman was able to set herself free. She jumped from the bed of the truck and fled toward the Go Mart convenience store at the intersection of U.S. 19 and Maple Fork Road for help.
A few hours after the incident, Stafford said, Deputy R.A. Cox noticed the pickup truck in the area of Appalachian Heights Road in Bradley. He entered into a short pursuit with the vehicle when he attempted to pull it over.
The vehicle eventually stopped and Cox was able to hold the two suspects until other deputies arrived on scene to assist.
“The deputies did an outstanding job containing the area,” Stafford said. “They took these two suspects off the road without any harm to the community or themselves. The investigation was outstanding. It was an excellent job.”
