Town manager who shot himself after harassment claim dies

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – The manager of a small Virginia town who shot himself in the head after a younger woman accused him of harassment died on Wednesday, a town official said.

Christiansburg Town Manager Steve Biggs died a day after police found him in an apartment with self-inflicted gunshot wound, town spokeswoman Melissa Powell said.

Mayor Mike Barber said he and the town council are “heartbroken.”

“Steve leaves behind a progressive and proactive legacy, and we will work hard to honour and build upon all that he started,” Barber said in a statement.

The shooting came weeks after a 23-year-old woman obtained a three-day emergency protective order against Biggs, accusing him of being “obsessive” toward her.

Biggs, 53, denied the woman’s claims in interviews with The Roanoke Times last week and on Monday. He accused her in court documents of seeking to “discredit and undermine” his standing “professionally and in the community.”

A judge denied the woman’s subsequent request for a 15-day preliminary protective order. State police also investigated, but Montgomery County prosecutors found no probable cause to charge Biggs with stalking or any other crime.

The husband and father of three children served as town manager for Clayton, North Carolina before coming to Christiansburg in July.

Nancy Medlin, deputy town manager for Clayton, said Biggs’ wife remained in Clayton so their youngest daughter could finish high school there.