Virginia Murder Suspect Arrested in South Dakota

A month-long search for a Virginia fugitive wanted in connection to the murder of two people has ended 1,200 miles away in South Dakota.

WSET-TV is reporting that 25-year-old Edward Denoyer was arrested without incident in Vermillion on Wednesday (October 18).

According to the Vermillion Police Department, Denoyer is currently being held in the Clay County Jail awaiting extradition to Virginia. The FBI, South Dakota Highway Patrol, the U.S. Marshals, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office all assisted in the search for Denoyer.

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Denoyer is suspected in a September 17 shooting that left two people dead and one injured in Roanoke, Virginia.

That night, officers from the Roanoke Police Department were responding to reports of a person with a gunshot wound in the 1200 block of Melrose Avenue NW. While en route, they were advised that there were multiple victims.

Once at the scene, a woman was found lying outside the home with what appeared to be a gunshot wound. They also located a man inside a vehicle parked at the home with what also appeared to be a gunshot wound. Both were pronounced dead on the scene.

At that same time, additional officers were called to the intersection of 10th Street and Salem Avenue SW for a report of a person with a gunshot wound inside a vehicle. Those injuries were described as serious, but non-life-threatening.

Police say the incident began during a gathering at a home on Melrose Avenue NW where several individuals became involved in a verbal altercation that escalated to a shooting.

No word on what connection, if any, Denoyer had to Vermillion.