ROCKY MOUNT, Va. – Franklin County authorities have charged a man arrested in Ohio with first-degree murder in the beating death of the minister of a rural county church.
Officials say 40-year-old Charles Vincent Cobler is being held without bond pending arraignment in the death of Nancy Copin.
The body of 60-year-old Copin was found Thursday morning in her home — the parsonage of Snow Creek Christian Church. An official said she died of blunt force trauma.
Cobler was arrested in Ohio on Sunday on unrelated charges and returned to Franklin County late Tuesday. Franklin authorities went to Ohio to assist in surveillance of a vehicle linked to Cobler.
Copin came to the tiny congregation about two years ago from a suburban church in Birmingham, Ala.
Officials say the hearing for Cobler could be Wednesday, depending on the court's schedule.
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