BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — Multiple people testified in the Andy McCauley Jr. trial on Tuesday, in which the individuals answered questions about McCauley’s actions around when Riley Crossman went missing in May 2019.
Eight witnesses spoke about McCauley and his actions around when the 15-year-old disappeared. Crossman’s family reported her missing on May 8, 2019. Authorities discovered her body on May 16 near a Tuscarora Pike embankment.
McCauley faces charges of first-degree murder, concealment of a body and death of a child by child abuse. McCauley has claimed he went to his job as a construction worker and did not leave the worksite, but later stated he did leave to buy drugs before adding he went to his house to get drugs for him and a co-worker.
West Virginia State Police Cpl. F.H. Edwards noted McCauley’s changes while speaking before the court.
“We knew his movements his morning and into his workday. We knew what his answers should have been. We asked the questions to gauge his honesty,” Edwards said.
“I viewed that as he wanted to put distance between him and that house.”
Denise Deaver, McCauley’s former partner, told the court she saw McCauley’s green pickup truck in front of Riley’s home on the day of the teenager’s disappearance. Deaver noted she found it unusual that the vehicle was backed into a space between the house and a shed, which would have meant McCauley had to run over a large pile of trash to get into that space. She also said the passenger door was open.
Defense attorney Andy Arnold has stated McCauley did not have a motive to kill Crossman.