Wheeling man pleads guilty in connection to 2018 death

WHEELING, W.Va. — An Ohio County man faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to second degree murder in a 2018 death.

Branden Ensminger

Branden Ensminger, 28, of Wheeling, admitted that he killed Rayna Shae Vaughan, 21, in a Wheeling Island apartment in March 2018.

Ohio County Circuit Judge David Sims accepted Ensminger’s guilty pleas to to second degree murder, gross child neglect and fraud in connection to an access device.

Ensminger agreed to a binding plea with prosecutors. Sims sentenced him Wednesday to 81 to 85 years in prison.

Ensminger apologized during Wednesday’s hearing.





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