CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A teenager charged following the December 2020 deaths of four family members will be tried as an adult.
Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Ballard held Tuesday a hearing regarding Gavin Smith.
According to authorities, a relative discovered the four bodies at the family’s home in the 1300 block of Cemetery Hill Drive in Elkview. Officials later identified the victims as Daniel Dale Long, 37, 39-year-old Rise Mae Saunders, 12-year-old Gage Ripley and 3-year-old Jameson Long.
Each person was shot with a firearm.
Gavin Smith was 16 years old at the time of the murders. He faces four counts of first-degree murder.
Another teenager, 17-year-old Rebecca Lynn Walker, entered a guilty plea last September over four counts of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Smith and Waler were in a relationship at the time of the murders.