Authorities say a fight late Friday ended in the death of a Rowan County man. But they’re not ready to call it murder.

Rowan County Sheriff’s deputies found Calvin David Rathburn, 37, dead in his home at 560 Hurley School Road around 11 p.m.

Carl Franklin Riddle, 28, of Princeton, W.Va., had surgery Saturday for stab wounds he received when he and Rathburn struggled shortly before that time.

Sgt. M.T. Agner said investigators still are piecing together what happened between the men and may not know for days what charges, if any, Riddle will face.

“There are a lot of factors in here that we will probably discuss with the district attorney to see if he wants to charge or not,” Agner said.

He said the killing may have been self-defense, but investigators have still “got a lot to do, so I’m not going to make any snap decisions.”

Sheriff George Wilhelm said Rathburn also had stab wounds. Agner declined to say what caused Rathburn’s death until an autopsy is performed at the state medical examiner’s office in Chapel Hill.

Apparently, there was only one weapon used in the fight, Agner said. He declined to provide details about the weapon and said it’s unclear which man had it first.

He said Riddle is the boyfriend of Rathburn’s ex-wife. She lives in West Virginia with Riddle and four of the children she had with Rathburn. A fifth child lived here with Rathburn.

The fight apparently started as Riddle dropped off four of the children for a bi-weekly visit with Rathburn, Agner said. The children were in Riddle’s car and didn’t see the fight, which took place inside the house, he said.

He said there were no witnesses to the fight, but investigators are interviewing several people who saw the men before and after the incident.

After the fight, Riddle drove to his father’s mobile home at 570 Kepley Road, Agner said. A neighbor there saw his wounds and reported it to authorities as a stabbing.

Riddle told authorities about the fight and directed them to Rathburn’s house, Agner said. Meanwhile, emergency medical workers took Riddle to Rowan Regional Medical Center, where he underwent surgery.

Investigators have spoken with Riddle, but not at length because he was under sedation Saturday, Agner said. He said Riddle is in good condition and likely will be released today.

Contact Scott Jenkins at 704-797-4248 or sjenkins@salisburypost.com .