Husband of slain Washington County woman found dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound

A Washington County man suspected of shooting and killing his wife was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday afternoon inside the woman's home after an eight-hour standoff with police.

The body of Dennis J. Kern, 61, of Claysville was found by the state police's Special Emergency Response Team in a second-floor bedroom of what had been the couple's residence along Browntown Road in Cross Creek, not far from the West Virginia line. Kern died of a shotgun wound in the chest, Coroner S. Timothy Warco said.

Kern was initially called a person of interest in the slaying of Carolin M. Kern, 68, who was found dead of a shotgun wound in the chest inside her Ford sedan Tuesday along rural Meneely Road in Jefferson, Trooper Matthew Jardine said.

Evidence found inside Dennis Kern's truck and the Browntown Road house “led us to conclude he was a suspect, rather than a person of interest,” Jardine said.

Court records reviewed by the Tribune-Review portray a rocky marriage and detail threats of violence. The couple married three years ago in Las Vegas.

Carolin Kern filed for divorce April 23 after obtaining a protection-from-abuse order against her husband because, she wrote in the petition, he told her during an argument: “I will blow your head off.” It was not the first time he had threatened to shoot her, she wrote.

The PFA ordered Dennis Kern, who was unemployed according to court papers, to surrender all firearms to police.

According to a criminal complaint charging Kern with simple assault and terroristic threats during the domestic dispute, he came home drunk the night of March 25 and began to argue with his wife and broke her phone. The argument escalated, and Kern told his wife he was going to kill her. He went to the basement and retrieved a black pistol, the complaint said. As his wife fled the house, the complaint said, Kern continued to shout that he was going to kill her. Police said they found two loaded firearms in addition to the pistol in the home.

Kern pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of harassment in July.

In September, Kern was charged with burglary and theft. He was accused of breaking into a barn on the Browntown Road property. According to the complaint, Kern was seen taking tools and supplies from the barn and loading them in his pickup one night in August.

Troopers began hunting for Kern after his wife's body was found inside her car, which had significant collision damage at its rear, Jardine said. It is not known when or how the vehicle was damaged, he said.

Relatives who went to the Browntown Road home Wednesday morning heard someone inside and called 911, Jardine said. State and local police surrounded the home about 9 a.m., believing Kern was barricaded inside, the trooper said.

Troopers saw movement inside the home but weren't able to make contact with Kern, Jardine said. No gunshots were exchanged, although troopers did detonate some non-lethal flash-bang grenades, Jardine said.

Sometime after noon, police found Kern's Chevrolet Silverado pickup parked on a rural road near the home, Jardine said. The truck appeared to have been damaged in a collision, Jardine said.

Troopers finally entered the home about 5 p.m., Jardine said.

Jardine said he did not know whether any officers heard the fatal gunshot or how long Kern had been dead before they found his body.

Staff writer Rick Wills contributed. Jason Cato, Megan Guza and Michael Hasch are staff writers for Trib Total Media.