FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The murder trial of one of the men accused of killing three people in Marion County almost 40 years ago started Monday morning in Fairmont with jury selection.
Eddie Washington, 59, is charged with three counts of first degree murder for the 1974 murders of Guy Lester Phillips, 20, his wife, Wanda Jane Phillips, 19, and Billy Ray Cobb, 27, all of Fairmont, at Windmill Park.
Investigators said the three were shot execution style.
For decades, no one was charged with the crimes despite the work of police officers in several states.
In Sept. 2012 new information surfaced and, officials said, that lead to a renewed look at the investigation and, subsequently, Washington’s arrest in Florida in February of this year.
A second man, Phillip Reese Bush, 64, was also charged with a role in the murders. He will go to trial at a later date.