DELBARTON, W.Va. — Hearts were heavy Wednesday afternoon in southern West Virginia as the community came together to honor the life of State Police Sgt. Cory Maynard.
Visitation was held at 12 p.m. in the Mingo Central High School gymnasium. A funeral service began at 3 p.m.
Maynard, 37, was shot and killed while responding to a shooting in the Matewan area of Mingo County Friday afternoon. He later died at Logan Memorial Hospital.
Maynard’s uncle David Maynard told MetroNews the family has been raising money through a GoFundMe page since then to help his wife Rachel and two young children, ages 13 and 9, pay for funeral expenses.
“It’s uplifting and overwhelming. It makes one emotional when you see it. People doing things that they don’t have to but they do it,” he said.
State Police Chief of Staff Maj. Jim Mitchell will lead Wednesday’s service and said he plans to share a lot about Maynard’s loyalty to the job as a trooper.
“His sense of commitment and dedication to the job was unparalleled. Anyone that knew Cory knew how he felt about the mission of law enforcement and his opportunity to serve in this capacity. He never did anything halfway,” Mitchell said.
As a native of Belfry, Ky., Maynard was heavily invested in the nearby Williamson community where he served. David Maynard said his nephew wasn’t just a good trooper, he inspired local youth and was well-liked wherever he went.
“He’s a lot like my father, his grandfather, who would stop and talk to everyone and showed genuine concern,” David Maynard said. “When Cory talked to you, you knew he was actually interested and cared about you.”
Sgt. Maynard and two other troopers responded to a call Friday when they were “ambushed” by a suspect who already shot another man before that, according to state Police Superintendent Col. Jack Chambers. Benjamin Baldwin, 39, of Matewan, was injured.
Timothy Kennedy, 29, of Beech Creek, was arrested after a nearly seven-hour manhunt Friday night. He was taken to the Southwestern Regional Jail and was charged with first degree murder.
Kennedy was denied bond during a hearing that took place Tuesday morning in Mingo County Circuit Court. He’ll likely face additional charges for the shooting that injured Baldwin who remains in a Charleston hospital in series but stable condition.
Kennedy is set to have a preliminary hearing in the case Thursday.
David Maynard said he has deep concerns about the safety of law enforcement today. Maynard’s death was the third fatal police shooting in West Virginia since Dec. 2020.
“You can always find people who may not like the police or may not like somebody, but I think , in general, you’re seeing through the reaction of folks in the community that he will be incredibly missed, not just by the family, but by a lot of people,” he said.
Maj. Mitchell said he plans to talk about the role of law enforcement during Wednesday’s service.
“We don’t do it ignorantly. We are aware of that. We don’t think about it every day, but we do go out and try to do our mission every day regardless,” he said. “I think we’ll remind them of why we do what we do and how important it is to continue to do that.”
Mitchell echoed the family’s thoughts and said Maynard was a kind-hearted person.
“The way he treated people: absolutely tremendous. He treated everyone the same. It didn’t matter what their social status was, what their position in the community was, it made no difference to him. Every person was important. That’s just the kind of person he was, so I want to elaborate on that,” he said.
Mitchell said he also plans to tell some personal stories about Cory, what his family thinks about him and read some scriptures.
Maynard will continue serving others even after his death as a tissue donor, the family said. His uncle said he hopes those who never met Cory know how much serving the people of West Virginia meant to him.
“He helped countless people over the years, so someone like that, we do need to take a moment and just reflect a little bit on them and maybe take some of those good things they do and incorporate them into the way we deal with people,” he said.
After Wednesday’s funeral service, a procession will take Maynard’s body to the Chapmanville Crematorium where there will be a small service for family members.