Shooter faced assault charges
in Clarke County

By Staff
June 12, 2004
By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
A Clarke County truck driver who killed one person and shot another in Meridian before taking his own life had recently been arrested for aggravated assault, police said Friday.
Meridian police say Danny Nevielle Faile, 33, 1330 County Road 360 in Enterprise, shot and killed William Purvis, 70, of Meridian on Thursday.
Police also say Faile shot and injured Purvis' goddaughter, Christina Woods, 27, of Lauderdale County. Detective Dean Harper of the Meridian Police Department said Woods had surgery Friday.
Harper said Woods' injuries are not life-threatening; Harper did not specify the injuries.
The shooting happened at about 7:18 p.m. at Purvis' 2226 Crabapple Drive home the second homicide-suicide in the city in two weeks. Purvis' death was Meridian's sixth homicide this year.
Faile worked for Dart Container in Quitman. He was originally from Choctaw County, Ala.
Clarke County Sheriff Todd Kemp said that Faile was arrested Feb. 9 for allegedly beating his wife, Betty. After the incident, Kemp said Betty obtained a restraining order against her husband.
Kemp said Faile was released on a $50,000 bond after being charged with domestic violence and aggravated assault. He said Faile's case would have gone before a Clarke County grand jury in August.
Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler said that Woods told police detectives she and Faile had recently ended a romantic relationship.
Cobler said that Faile went to Purvis' house to talk with Woods. When she came outside, Cobler said, Faile shot her in the leg.
Then Purvis stepped in front of Woods, Cobler said, and Faile shot him in the chest with a 9-mm handgun. Purvis died on the way to a local hospital, Cobler said, and attempts to revive him failed.
Faile shot himself once in the head, Cobler said, and died at the scene.
Harper said that while the case is still under investigation, he believes it will be closed soon.