Hatfield was CEO of International Coal Group, which owned the mine, when it exploded and trapped 13 miners underground.
Advertisement
Peterson is charged with being an accessory after the fact, obstructing and providing false information to an officer.
Hatfield’s body was discovered in the cemetery on Monday morning, hours after he was reported missing.
Earlier Wednesday, Wellman had said police wanted to interview Fitzpatrick about his knowledge of Hatfield’s death but noted that that didn’t necessarily mean Fitzpatrick is a suspect.
“Ben Hatfield was well known, not just for his many accomplishments within the industry, but also as a mentor to so many of us”, said Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association.
Maynard says it was through friendship with Peterson, 20, that Arriaga met Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick is the third person arrested in connection with Hatfield’s slaying. Fitzpatrick is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Sheriff James Smith says around 1 p.m. Sunday, Hatfield was cleaning his wife and in-laws’ graves when Brandon Fitzpatrick, 18, of Louisa, and Anthony Arriaga, 20, of Gibsonburg, Ohio, pulled up to the cemetery.
Authorities believe Arriaga sneaked down a river bank next to the cemetery wearing only his underwear, told someone he fell in the river, and then paid him $45 to take him to a Rite Aid in Wayne County, Smith said.
The victim, Bennett Hatfield, resigned as CEO of a coal company in 2015 one month after it filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time.
Authorities say Hatfield was visiting his wife’s gravesite at the Mountain View Memory Gardens in southern West Virginia when he was fatally shot. Hatfield’s wife Debbie was buried in the cemetary after her death from cancer several years ago, according to published reports.
Authorities said Arriaga shot Hatfield on Monday at Mountain View Memory Gardens, a cemetery in southern West Virginia.
Troopers allege that Arriaga and Fitzpatrick were in the Maher area of Mingo County selling drugs. Fitzpatrick was being held in the Kenton County jail pending extradition proceedings. “We were totally lost”, Smith said of the investigation.
Also arrested Wednesday and in the vehicle with Fitzpatrick was Angela Marcum, 43 of Delphos, Ohio.
Advertisement
While Peterson was being detained for questioning, he excitedly blurted out that he would help them find Arriaga if they let him go, the complaint said. At a hearing Tuesday afternoon, Arriaga waived his rights to remain in OH for extradition proceedings.
