WEST CLARKSVILLE, N.Y. — The state police investigation into the shooting death of West Clarksville resident Royce A. Chapman continued Thursday with his ex-girlfriend and her son already jailed on matching murder charges.
Emergency responders reached Chapman’s residence at 8754 County Road 40 shortly after midnight Wednesday to find the 57-year-old dead from a gunshot wound. Following a probe that lasted less than 24 hours, police arrested and charged Lana M. Joseph, 51, and Richard D. Mosher III, 26, both of Olean, with one count each of second-degree murder, a class A-1 felony.
Officials with the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation detailed preliminary findings in a press conference at the Troop A headquarters in Batavia late Thursday morning, but kept mum on a potential motive and other intimate details.
“That is still ongoing. We are still actively chasing leads. We are still actively, well-involved with the case,” said Trooper James O’Callaghan, public information officer for Troop A. “We aren’t going to dive into motives. We aren’t going to dive into causes of death because the autopsy is still not completely finished.”
Capt. James Hall of the BCI said Chapman and Joseph began a romantic relationship “sometime in 2016.”
“And there was information that we developed that led us to interview her and believe that she was a suspect in this crime,” he said.
Police have confiscated multiple weapons in the case, Hall said, adding, “but which was used in the crime is still under investigation.”
An autopsy was done at the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s office in Rochester, yielding only preliminary results by Thursday. Hall couldn’t confirm how many times Chapman was shot or whom police believe fired the fatal round.
Investigators from the BCI’s forensic and computer crime units are still looking into the extent Joseph and Mosher allegedly had contact with the victim.
“As far as we know, she did have a relationship with him,” said state police Lt. Brian Ratajczak. “Did she spend a night or two? We’re still looking into that, but she did have her own residence in Olean.”
Joseph and Mosher have given statements to investigators, but Hall could not discuss their contents. Police located the two in the “same area,” Ratajczak said, not specifying exactly when and where.
“Just the synopsis of this case led us to believe that both were involved,” Hall added.
There had been no previously reported domestic incidents at Chapman’s address, a single-story, cottage-style structure in the small Allegany County hamlet.
“I can tell you that an argument ensued inside the residence,” Hall said, noting he could not disclose its topic or when it became violent and ultimately deadly.
The emergency call came at 11:58 p.m. Tuesday to the Allegany County 911 Center, a dispatcher said. She was unable to give further details. One of Chapman’s relatives called after finding him dead in his home. Close family members had not heard from Chapman in about a day, Hall said.
“Yes, they were concerned for his safety,” the state police captain added.
Neighbor Steve Clayton, who lives several houses away, recalled hearing gunshots at about 10 p.m. Monday.
“But that’s nothing new to hear gunshots around here. Everybody shoots all the time,” Clayton said at his home Wednesday. “These people got a range out back, I’ve got a range out back, the next door neighbor’s got a range, but this was late at night.”
Joseph and Mosher were arraigned before Clarksville Town Judge Ronald Dennis and remanded to the Allegany County Jail in Belmont in lieu of $50,000 bail or $100,000 bond. They are due back in court Wednesday, Feb. 15.
“As an agency, we’d like to offer our condolences to the family in addition to thanking our law enforcement partners,” Hall said.
State police officials named the Cuba Police Department, Allegany County District Attorney Keith Slep’s office and the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office among the assisting agencies. Cattaraugus County sheriff’s deputies held Chapman’s truck when it was spotted parked along Interstate 86 in Hinsdale at some point during the initial investigation, said Sheriff Tim Whitcomb. Slep declined to comment Thursday.
Officers urge anyone with further information or who had contact with the defendants recently to contact the state police at (585) 268-7086.
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(Editor’s note: Reporter-editor Bob Clark contributed to this report.)