17-Year-Old Girl Sentenced For Helping 16-Year-Old Boy Accused Of Killing 4 In West Virginia
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A 17-year-old West Virginia girl has been sentenced to 10 years of incarceration on four counts of accessory after the fact in the slayings of four people.
Rebecca Lynn Walker was sentenced Thursday in Kanawha Circuit Court for assisting the 16-year-old suspect after the shooting deaths happened, news outlets reported.
Walker was initially charged with first-degree murder as a juvenile, but her case was moved to adult court in July and she pleaded guilty to the accessory charge in the deaths of Daniel Dale Long, 37, Risa Mae Saunders, 39, Gage Ripley, 12, and Jameson Long, 3, who were found fatally shot last year in their Elkview home.
The boy's case is still in juvenile court and his name hasn't been released.
Walker's defense attorney, Robbie Long, said his client's relationship with the boy turned into the "perfect storm."
"The two of them become delusional about their futures together, and unfortunately her boyfriend acted on those delusions, and that's what brings us here today," he said.
Prosecutor Don Morris disagreed, saying Walker and the boy were selfish in wanting to spend time together at the expense of lives.
"The reason for the state entering this plea agreement, more or less, is that we believe the defendant here was manipulated to a great extent," Morris said.
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