PRINCETON, W.Va. — A Mercer County man accused of slashing a woman’s throat and throwing her off a bridge was found not guilty of attempted murder and malicious wounding Friday.
Stacy Burrell, 61, of Bluefield, was charged in Oct. 2017, after the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department began investigating the case of a woman who was being treated for injuries at Princeton Community Hospital.
The woman told deputies Burrell assaulted her, then drove her to a bridge (later identified as Brush Creek Falls Bridge on Interstate 77), cut her throat with a box cutter, and threw her off the bridge. She stated that she able to to get out of the water, crawl up an embankment, then walk to a nearby gas station where she was able to get help.
According to court testimony, investigators noticed Burrell had blood on his clothing and appeared to be intoxicated during an initial interview. He reportedly denied attacking the woman. Deputies later established that the suspect and alleged victim were acquainted, that the woman had been staying at Burrell’s house for three or four days, and that the two had been drinking and smoking marijuana, prior to the alleged attack. A physician later testified that the injuries to the woman were consistent with her account.
Burrell’s defense attorney argued during the two-day trial in Mercer County Circuit Court that the woman had lied repeatedly about attempting to steal property from Burrell, and that she had made up a story about being attacked, in order to conceal her own criminal activity.
Jurors deliberated for less than an hour before reaching a verdict.