PRINCETON, W.Va. — A Mercer County man convicted in the stabbing death of a woman inside her Princeton apartment on Christmas Eve 2017 was sentenced to 40 years in a state prison Friday.
Roger Lee Lemons Jr., 46, of Princeton was found guilty of second-degree murder in August for the death of 33-year-old Angela Seal, whose body was discovered by a relative on Christmas Day 2017.
Lemons, who initially was charged with first degree murder, chose not to testify during the three-day trial in Mercer County Circuit Court, though his defense team had argued the case against him largely was circumstantial.
Witnesses for the prosecution testified they saw Lemons enter the apartment on Dec. 24, after a domestic violence petition had been served on him. Prosecuting Attorney George Sitler presented cell phone evidence placing Lemons at Seal’s address on the day of her death, and a forensic analyst testified DNA evidence indicated Lemons had been inside the apartment and had attacked Seal before her body was found.
At Friday’s sentencing hearing, Circuit Court Judge William Sadler sentenced Lemons to the maximum allowable term of 40 years in prison.
Members of Seal’s family addressed the court before sentencing, offering forgiveness and expressing empathy and concern for Lemons’ parents.
Lemons was remanded to Southern Regional Jail pending his transfer to a state prison. He will receive 611 days credit for time served in jail since his arrest.