JOHNSON COUNTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN 2022 LOCAL TRIPLE MURDER CASE

A Paintsville man pleaded guilty and may face life in prison for the October 2022 murder of three people, including his wife, exactly two years and three days after the brutal shootings.

Ronnie R. Pack, 23, of Depot Street, of Paintsville, KY., entered the plea on Friday, September 13, to three counts of murder in relation to the deaths of his wife, Myrtle Renee Dorton (Pack); as well as Paula Wells, and Richard Morman.

The Office of Commonwealth’s Attorney for Johnson County, Tony Skeans, recommended as a result of the mediation that Ronnie Pack be sentenced to life in prison, with the eligibility for parole after serving 20 years. A final sentencing date in the triple homicide case was set for Monday, October 28.

Ronnie Pack was originally arrested on September 9, 2022, after Kentucky State Police Post 9 Detective Mark Branham responded to the scene of a reported crime to find three individuals deceased from apparent gunshot wounds, including Ronnie Pack’s wife Myrtle Renee Dorton-Pack.

According to KSP Detective Branham’s testimony at a 2022 preliminary hearing in the case, male victim Richard Morman’s throat had also been slit.

“He had a large pool of blood on his face and his throat was slit,” Detective Branham said, adding that he discovered 9mm shell casings near the bodies of the two female victims. “Once we entered the residence, we discovered two shell casings in the room where the bodies were found … It was in a back room, attached to the porch.”

Detective Branham also positively identified Ronnie Pack and stated that he took statements from witnesses near the scene that indicated Ronnie Pack was the shooter in the killings. Detective Branham also testified that Ronnie Pack had made a statement to two officers with the Paintsville Police Department that the officers “might as well go ahead and kill (Ronnie Packhimself )” because he had “just killed three people.”

During a cross-examination by Ronnie Pack’s attorney, Bridget Hofler, who is with the Department of Public Advocacy Capital Trials East Branch; Detective Branham stated that he had heard from two separate witnesses, including the original 911 caller, that Ronnie Pack had been seen drinking alcohol on the day of the shooting. Bridget Hofler also stated that, during a recorded interview with former Paintsville Police Department Chief, Mike Roe,Ronnie Pack had also made statements regarding “demons” and that he “was the devil.”

Ronnie Pack was returned to the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville, where he has been held since September 12, 2022; after being released from a hospital in Pikeville, after spending three days being treated due to Ronnie Pack getting shot by a state trooper when he pointed a gun at the the trooper while being pursued in a car on the same day as the triple homicide he had just committed.