Joseph Cunningham found Guilty of 2nd Degree Murder

On January 19, 2023 a call came prior to midnight for a shooting that occurred in the National Forest off Alahambra Road in Amherst County from Summer Cunningham, the daughter of the defendant.  When officers arrived they found three individuals – Summer Cunningham, Joseph Cunningham, and David Christian (who was employed as a law enforcement officer) – at a store less than 15 minutes from a site in the National Forest where they indicated that a shooting had occurred. They stated that Kevin Hartless, who was deceased, had shot a firearm at them and that Joseph Cunningham had returned fire in self-defense. 

When law enforcement officers spoke to the individuals, they all provided similar versions of events, but with some variations. They indicated that they believed that Jennifer Cunningham, Joseph's wife, was having an affair with the Kevin and wanted to catch Kevin and Jennifer in the act to assist with possible divorce proceedings. They also said they wanted to retrieve some dog collars that they believed Jennifer Cunningham possessed. All three drove over an hour from Buckingham County to try and locate Kevin and Jennifer. Joseph, David, and Summer followed them into the National Forest and drove into a secluded pull-off site. 

At that time, Summer and Joseph approached the vehicle. They claimed Kevin opened the door and struck first. They claimed that once Kevin was in a headlock he produced a gun and fired. They claimed that Joseph retreated back to the truck and retrieved David Christian’s firearm and returned fire. They claimed that Kevin continued to exchange fire and that Joseph only shot in self defense. 

Jennifer Cunningham then arrived at the store in Kevin’s truck, which she had driven away from the site. When asked about the incident, she said only saw a bit of the struggle, because after the first shot she ducked down into the floorboard of the truck. 

Law enforcement officers conducted a forensic analysis of the relevant cellphones. Of note was a message from Kevin to Joseph. This message scolded Joseph and accused him of domestic violence against Jennifer and warned him not to come around him. Law enforcement also discovered a video recorded by Kevin between Joseph and Jennifer in which Joseph was making threat of gun violence against Kevin only days before the murder. 

Two weapons were recovered from the scene. The weapon which was lying near Kevin was a derringer style pistol capable of shooting twice. When Investigators analyzed the weapon, they found that it was loaded with .410 shells and that one spent shell was in barrel while another shell remained unspent inside the barrel. A combing of the scene yielded numerous spent cartridges belonging to the gun used by Joseph Cunningham, but the only spent .410 shell was the one located in the gun. This proved that Kevin had only shot one time and did so while he was being placed in a deadly headlock by Joseph Cunningham. 

The version of events provided by Joseph, Summer, and David was inconsistent with the forensics discovered by Investigators. The victim clearly only fired one time. Putting this fact together with Joseph’s testimony, it is clear that after the first shot Joseph retreated to the car, obtained a firearm, and shot the victim multiple times without Kevin returning fire. A medical examiner also determined that one of shots fired by Joseph Cunningham entered into Kevin’s back, indicating that he was turning away from Joseph at the time he was shot rather than trying to engage in a shootout.  While Kevin can never tell us what happened in the National Forest that day, the versions of events presented by Joseph Cunningham and those close to him do not hold up to scrutiny.

Commonwealth's Attorney Lyle Carver and Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Adam Stanley tried this case to an Amherst County jury from May 28, 2024 to May 30, 2024. It was a long and difficult case involving multiple witnesses from the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police, and the Medical Examiner’s Office. In an unprecedented move, our office requested that the jury be taken to the scene of the crime to understand how events unfolded that night. At the conclusion of the Commonwealth’s evidence, Joseph Cunningham was found guilty unanimously by a jury of his peers of Second Degree Murder and Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony, despite his self defense argument.  The jury recommended after a sentencing hearing that he serve an active Sixteen (16) year sentence.