OAK HILL, W.Va. — Fayette County deputies charged two suspects with arson and murder in connection with a March 2014 fire that killed two Oak Hill women.
William Eugene Dixon Sr., 55, of Oak Hill, turned himself in Monday afternoon after deputies obtained a warrant for his arrest.
During the arraignment, Dixon’s attorney filed an emergency motion with the Circuit Court of Fayette County for a hearing to establish bond due to Dixon’s various health issues. Bond was established at $75,000 and Dixon will be required to GPS home confinement monitoring as a condition of his bond.
Investigators captured the second suspect, Jonathan Jones, 28, also of Oak Hill, later Monday.
The fire began in the early hours of Sunday, March 23, 2014, on Gatewood Road outside Oak Hill’s city limits. Though two women were rescued, they suffered extensive burn injuries.
Cheryl Renee Ward, 28, died in the burn unit of Cabell Huntington Hospital the next day. Jamie Lynn Castillo, 40, died July 6, 2014, as a result of her burns.
Fire investigators ruled out accidental causes and determined the fire was intentionally started.
“If you are engaged in the commission of certain felony crimes, including arson, and someone dies as a result of your criminal conduct, then it is considered to be murder,” Fayette County prosecuting attorney Larry Harrah said in a statement. “It is not necessary for a suspect to have intentionally killed someone. If an individual dies as a result of your commission of certain felony crimes, whether you intended for them to die or not, then you are legally responsible for his or her death. In this case two individuals—Cheryl Renee Ward and Jamie Lynn Castillo—died as a direct result of the alleged criminal conduct of William Eugene Dixon, Sr. and Jonathan Lee Jones.”
“We have carefully reviewed the evidence in this case and believe that this evidence fully supports the filing of these criminal charges. No crime is more serious than the unlawful taking of another human life, and I intend to prosecute this case aggressively.”