BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — Testimony is scheduled to begin Monday in a high-profile murder trial in Morgan County.
A jury has already been chosen to hear the murder case of Andy McCauley.
McCauley, 43, of Berkeley Springs, allegedly killed 15-year-old Riley Crossman in May 2019. Crossman was the daughter of McCauley’s then-girlfriend.
Crossman was reported missing on May 8, 2019, by her family after they received a notification from Berkeley Springs High School that she was marked absent.
A community search, consisting of law enforcement, community leaders and residents, lasted nearly a week.
Crossman’s body was found on May 16, 2019, by law enforcement over an embankment on Tuscarora Pike in Berkeley County, west of Martinsburg. McCauley was charged later that day with first-degree murder, concealment of a body and death of a child by child abuse.
Morgan County Sheriff K.C. Bohrer said it’s been a long process to get to the point of trial.
“There’s been a lot of hard work by several different agencies,” Bohrer told the Panhandle News Network.
He said a homicide is the most egregious crime that police see but when it involves a young person it’s even more important to seek justice.
“We have to make sure we do our thing and the justice system protects the rights of the accused. We hope and pray for justice,” Bohrer said.
Morgan County Prosecuting Attorney Dan James said jurors may hear from as many as 40 witnesses for the state during the trial in Berkeley Springs . He anticipates testimony will last at least a week.