Suspect's mother voiced concerns

The mother of one of three suspects accused of conspiring to kill Sean Peter Placko said Thursday she remembers warning him not to open his Churchville home to them.

“They had a roof over their head because of Sean,” said Mary Placko, of Deerfield, the victim’s sister-in-law. “I remember, I looked at Sean and said, ‘Do you want me to get them the hell out of your house?’ And he said, ‘No, sis, they have a baby and I want them to be OK.’ ”

Authorities Wednesday arrested Mary Placko’s son Christopher Michael Dudley, 28, and his wife, Susan Jeannie Dudley, 24, and their friend Andrew Clay Ottinger, 22, on charges they conspired to kill Sean Peter Placko, 42.

Augusta authorities said they believe the three suspects lived with Placko in January and February, up until his death. He was last seen Feb. 14, and his body was discovered three weeks later, authorities said.

Mary Placko said she disagreed with her brother-in-law’s decision to allow her son, his wife and their friend to move into his home on Dry Branch Road.

“I knew they were going to use the hell out of Sean,” she said. “That’s all they know – use and move on.”

Authorities said a fisherman found Placko’s body March 7 floating under the Snowden Bridge in the James River. Beford County deputies pulled Placko from the water, about 80 miles from home, authorities said.

Susan Dudley filed a missing person report Feb. 23, authorities said.

“He would sit there and not wear a shirt if you needed a shirt,” Mary Placko said. “He had the biggest heart of anybody I’ve ever known.”

She said she became Sean Placko’s sister-in-law by marriage when she wed his brother, Jeff.

Friends and relatives described Sean Placko as a lover of the outdoors who sometimes struggled with substance and alcohol abuse.

“He has used and he has drank,” Mary Placko said. “His main demon was his alcohol, but he has never sold.”

George Maybush, of Staunton, said he and Sean Placko became friends almost 20 years ago, and played horseshoes and shot pool together.

“He was a real generous guy,” Maybush said. “He’d do anything for you if he could.”

When he wasn’t fishing or camping, Placko spent time with his pet parrot, Ozzie, or played a bass guitar, Maybush said.

“He had a wacky sense of humor,” he said. “We used to live in the Bath Street Apartments, and we’d watch the music channels, you know, and I’d play my old classic rock – and then he’d get up and turn on that hard, heavy stuff.”

Maybush chuckled as he remembered their different tastes in music.

“And he was a good bass player, too, when he wasn’t messed up on the alcohol,” he said. “I’m gonna miss him. He had a different aura about him.”

Maybush said he met the Dudleys and Ottinger once, but didn’t know them well.

A judge in 2004 sentenced Christopher Dudley to three years in prison on a malicious wounding conviction, according to court records. Dudley violated his probation in 2007, when officials could not locate him, court records state.

Since the beginning of the year, Ottinger was scheduled to appear in Augusta County General District Court five times, on traffic and public swearing charges, according to court records.

All three suspects are being held without bond at Blue Ridge Regional Jail in Bedford.

Bond hearings for the trio tentatively are set for 1:30 p.m. Monday in Bedford General District Court.