Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 16, 1995                   TAG: 9506160048
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN AND DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: FLOYD                                LENGTH: Medium

HEAD INJURY KILLED WOMAN, EXAMINER SAYS

A Floyd County man, David Joel Hall, has been charged in her death.

Ellen Marjorie Plocki, 18, of Austinville had been living with Hall at a garage in the Willis section of Floyd County for about six months, according to authorities.

Wednesday afternoon, county sheriff's deputies were called to the garage after receiving a tip about a woman who had been injured. Police would not say where the tip came from.

State police also responded, arriving at about 5:30 p.m. Police said they first thought they faced a barricade, with a woman beaten up and a man holed up in the building. They didn't know what the woman's condition was.

But about 7 p.m., the man officers had thought was barricaded in the building drove up in a Jeep, said Bob Perry, acting special agent in charge with the Virginia State Police in Salem.

Members of the state police's tactical response team surrounded the vehicle and the man was taken into custody without incident.

"He threw up his hands as soon as they approached him," Perry said. Inside the garage, police found Plocki lying on a mattress. She was dead, her body wrapped in a blanket.

At that time, Hall, 33, was charged with driving after being declared a habitual offender, driving under the influence and other traffic charges, Perry said.

Early Thursday morning, Hall was charged with murder and possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony.

A shotgun was found in the area, but state police would not say where it was found. Officers also would not speculate on a motive for the slaying.

An autopsy showed that Plocki died of a blunt-force injury to the head. She also had bruises on her body, said Dr. William Massello, assistant deputy chief medical examiner for Western Virginia.

Hall was arraigned in Floyd County Court Thursday morning. He is being held in the Floyd County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bond. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 20.

Keywords:
FATALITY