Female preacher found beaten to death

Nancy Copin, 60, died from blunt force trauma wounds, Franklin County Commonwealth’s Attorney Cliff Hapgood said.

Three visitors to Copin’s home on Thursday morning found blood in the parsonage and immediately called the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Capt. Bill Overton said.

“They found a back door unlocked, went inside and immediately detected that something didn’t seem right,” Overton said.

Additional details about Copins death were being withheld Friday as investigators continued to process the crime scene.

Copin, who had been the minister of Snow Creek Christian Church for almost two years, lived alone and had not been seen or heard from for several days when several church members went to check on her Thursday morning.

After spotting blood in the house, the church members called police, who arrived at the scene about 10:45 a.m. and found Copin’s body.

Hapgood declined to say where in the house Copin was found, or whether there was evidence of forced entry into the home or a struggle. Nor would he comment on possible suspects.

The fact that Copin lived alone and was not seen or heard from for several days was another complication in the investigation. “We really can’t fix an exact time of death,” Hapgood said.

The sheriff’s department increased patrols in the community, located between Roanoke and Martinsville, and spoke to Copin’s congregation Thursday night.

Michael Doyle, 52, an elder in the Disciples of Christ Church, said the congregation would move forward with Holy Week activities.

“It may just be us all hugging each other and crying,” Doyle told The Roanoke Times. “Nancy was on fire for the Lord and she would be disappointed if we didn’t hold services.”

Copin came to the tiny community in southern Franklin County about 20 months ago. She had been an associate pastor at a suburban church in Birmingham, Ala., where she was active in the Hispanic ministry.

Church members said she had traveled on several missions to Mexico, Cambodia and Africa with other Disciples of Christ churches in the past few years.