(MARDELA, MD) – The nephew of a Wicomico County man is under arrest and has been charged with his murder that occurred in a rural farm field in the same county late Monday morning.
The accused is identified as William B. Harcum, III, 31, of the 10000-block of Snethen Church Road, Mardela, Md. After consultation with the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office, Maryland State Police homicide investigators charged him with first degree murder, second degree murder, first degree assault, and second degree assault. Harcum was been taken for his initial appearance before a court commissioner and is being held without bond in the Wicomico County Detention Center.
The victim is identified as Lee P. Harcum, 62, of the 6200-block of Westbrooke Drive, Salisbury, Md. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His body has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Monday, July 27, 2015 troopers from the Salisbury Barrack responded to a produce farm field in the 10000-block of Snethen Church Road, Mardela, Md. after receiving a 911 call from the scene. Upon arrival, troopers encountered a man being treated by paramedics near the entrance to a lane that led back to a farm field. The man, later identified as William Harcum III, was taken into custody near the scene.
About one-quarter of a mile back the lane, troopers found the body of Lee Harcum lying in a watermelon field, with obvious trauma to his head. EMS personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.
Troopers called for the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit and Wicomico Bureau of Investigation to respond. State Police crime scene technicians were also dispatched to process the scene.
Investigators have interviewed multiple individuals and evidence has been collected from the scene. The preliminary investigation indicates William Harcum III and his uncle, Lee Harcum, were picking watermelons in the field when an argument ensued between the two. Investigators believe William Harcum III used a blunt object to strike Lee Harcum in the head.
Investigators have recovered a piece of farm equipment that will be forwarded to the State Police Forensic Sciences Division Laboratory for analysis to determine if it was used in the assault. Due to the ongoing investigation, the object is not being identified at this time.
The investigation is continuing.
