When Scioto County Sheriff Marty V. Donini first heard about the homicide in McDermott Tuesday, he said, "I made the comment to myself, thinking, who could have done something like this? Sammy Jordan's name came up."

Capt. David Hall spoke the same name while at the crime scene.

Now Donini says his office has made an arrest in that homicide of a McDermott man, and it turns out to be the same name that was in the minds and on the lips of the two law enforcement officers.

Donini said Thursday afternoon his detectives developed a suspect, located and interviewed Samuel C. Jordan, 45, of 802 Tatman Coe Road, McDermott.

"It took a day or two to actually find him," Donini said. "They found him at his mom's house, and in between that time they were looking for him as a person of interest. It was just a law enforcement gut feeling. In the meantime, they (detectives) had been questioning some other people, just going on leads."

Donini said it didn't take long to get an answer in the case.

"Once they did get him in here it didn't take long until he did admit to it," Donini said.

Jordan has now been arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. Jordan appeared at 9 a.m. Friday in Portsmouth Municipal Court, where he was set for pre-trial with no bond. Jordan also has a charge of probation violation from Portsmouth Municipal Court.

Donini said no clear motive has been determined, other than an argument between Jordan and the victim, Kenneth E. "Bub" Layne, 45, prior to the incident. From the investigation it appears the incident occurred inside the victim's residence at 28 Rose Alley in McDermott.

Donini does not suspect drugs were involved.

"Dave (Hall) kind of implies it could have possibly been alcohol-related, but I have never heard the drug-related issue," Donini said. "Both of these guys have been in and out of the (Scioto) County Jail. The suspect has been in and out of here multiple times on disorderly-drunk. I don't know him on a personal level but I would guess that he's probably an alcoholic. In a lot of these cases it's the suspect stealing drugs from the victim, but in this case there is no indication of that."

Donini said the two knew each other, and he said there was money in the house, which was untouched.

"They have both been trouble to law enforcement," Donini said. "But no one deserves to be killed that way."

Donini did reveal that Layne died as the result of multiple stab wounds. He said further results are pending the autopsy at the Montgomery County Forensic Center.

Donini said it is a relief when a murder is solved so quickly.

"Every time you get a murder case, it's like, 'Oh, man, we've got to solve this,' and statistically in most cases the suspect is known to the victim," Donini said. "So if you will really get on it and get on it quick, there's a better chance to solve it, and that's what these guys did this time. You don't want any murder unsolved."

Donini said the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation conducted the crime-scene investigation and are still involved, analyzing blood from the scene to see if any does not belong to Layne.

"My understanding is that the suspect was wounded and may have actually left some blood at the scene," Donini said. "We'll be able to match that up."

FRANK LEWIS may be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 232, or flewis@heartlandpublications.com.