ROGERS Victim's identity confirmed, homicide probe ensues

The victim was shot to death, but authorities are saying little else.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
ROGERS -- Investigators have made little progress in a probe to determine who killed a man whose charred remains were found in his burned home in February.
It was just last week, however, that the Columbiana County coroner's office determined who the victim was and that his death had been a homicide.
Forensic experts have concluded that Walt Valentine, 60, of 8546 Scotts-Mill Road, died of several gunshot wounds, county coroner's investigator Fran Rudibaugh said.
The condition of the body and the lack of updated dental records made it difficult to identify him sooner, Rudibaugh said.
Now that a victim has been positively identified and a manner of death determined, an investigation is under way in earnest, Sheriff Dave Smith said Friday.
After the fire in the Middleton Township house trailer, authorities suspected the body found there was Valentine's, Smith said.
But there also was a theory among investigators that Valentine himself might have killed someone, set the fire and left the area, Smith added.
With the probe just a week old, sheriff's detectives have yet to turn up any solid leads on who may have committed the crime.
Unclear motive
Also unclear is why someone would want to kill Valentine, who lived alone in the trailer.
Officials won't say how many gunshot wounds Valentine had, where they were or what type of firearm was used.
Valentine's badly burned body was discovered on a bench in the center of the trailer.
Neighbors who reported the fire said they heard an explosion and looked out to find the trailer in flames.
The fire was deliberately set, Smith said. Whoever did it used some type of substance to cause the blaze to rapidly spread.