Coal company executive Ben Hatfield found dead in Mingo cemetery

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8. Former Coal Executive Was Target of Random Robbery, Police Say

Former Coal Executive Was Target of Random Robbery, Police Say

Authorities say suspect confessed to killing Bennett Hatfield in a cemetery as he visited his wife’s grave

By Kris Maher
[e-mail]

Updated May 26, 2016 12:34 a.m. ET

A former coal industry CEO who was murdered earlier this week in southern West Virginia was an accidental victim of a drug-related robbery gone bad, according to police who said a 20-year-old man confessed to the crime Wednesday.

Police said Anthony Arriaga, of Gibsonburg, Ohio, confessed to shooting Bennett Hatfield, 59, while the former chief executive of Patriot Coal was visiting his deceased wife’s grave at a cemetery near Williamson, W.Va., along the Kentucky border in Mingo County.

Mr. Hatfield’s body was found early Monday morning over a hillside next to the cemetery after he had been reported missing. Police arrested Mr. Arriaga in Allen County, Ohio, on Tuesday and charged him with first-degree murder.

First Sgt. Andy Perdue of the West Virginia State Police said that Mr. Arriaga was selling drugs in Mingo County with Brandon Fitzgerald, 18, when the two ran out of money and decided to rob someone. He said the men targeted Mr. Hatfield after seeing his GMC Denali and didn't know who he was.