CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The trial continues for a Kanawha County man accused of murdering a Jackson County woman and dumping her body in a well near Sissonville.
The second day of testimony in the trial of Michael Smith saw law enforcement, civilian, and expert witnesses take the stand on Tuesday as Smith faces charges of first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body, and using a firearm during a felony for the 2021 death of Cheyenne Johnson.
The state first called Jackson County Sheriff’s Department Detective Seth Fisher, the lead investigator on the missing persons case that led law enforcement to Smith. Fisher testified to receiving a tip from a Jackson County resident named Amanda Chilson, who told the sheriff’s department to look into Virginia Smith, whom Michael Smith was in a relationship with, in connection with Johnson’s disappearance.
Virginia Smith pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body, and using a firearm during a felony for Johnson’s death in 2023 and is expected to testify during the trial.
Chilson also testified on Tuesday, saying that she heard a conversation outside her home between Michael Smith, Virginia Smith, and another man in which Michael Smith said they “finished her” in reference to Johnson.
Fisher indicated that after receiving the tip, law enforcement received data from Johnson’s cell phone that led them to Virginia Smith’s farm where he asked her if Johnson was there. He said that Virginia Smith had a “look of shock” in response to the question and said that she “wasn’t going to lose her kids over this.”
According to the detective, Virginia Smith told investigators she could take them to Johnson and that Johnson and Michael Smith had gotten into an altercation, with both going into the woods and only Michael Smith returning.
While at the farm, Fisher interviewed Michael Smith who voluntarily confessed to shooting and killing Johnson before dragging her body to a well on the property and putting it inside. A recording of that interview was played for the jury and in it, Smith states that he shot Johnson while defending Virginia Smith from her.
In his cross-examination of Fisher, defense attorney Robby Long laid out a version of the events in which Virginia Smith shot Johnson and then concocted a story with Michael Smith in which he shot Johnson while defending Virginia Smith so that she would not lose custody of her children. Fisher stated that investigators found no evidence of an attack on Virginia Smith and no physical evidence that Michael Smith didn’t shoot Johnson.
Dr. Donald Pojman, the forensic pathologist who conducted Johnson’s autopsy, testified to his findings that blunt force injuries to Johnson’s head, as well as wounds likely caused by a blade on her arms and legs, most probably occurred in the hours before her death and afterward. He also explained the details of the toxicology report conducted by an outside lab that showed methamphetamine in Johnson’s bloodstream when she died.
Testimony before Kanawha County Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard is expected to continue Wednesday.