CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Kanawha County murder case that stretched more than four years reached a conclusion with the conviction of Michael Smith on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Cheyenne Johnson last Thursday.
Smith was originally charged in connection with Johnson’s death in 2021, but several factors delayed his trial until last week. Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Debra Rusnak said it took a long time, but this is why her office exists.
“This case is the very essence of why we do what we do. Like so many other cases of this magnitude, it’s been a long and winding road,” she said.
Smith’s co-defendant, Virginia Smith, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, as well as two connected charges, for Johnson’s death in 2021 after Johnson’s body was found in a well on Virginia Smith’s property near Sissonville. The investigation proved to be wide-ranging, as Johnson was first reported missing from Jackson County, and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, and the Jackson County Bureau of Investigations all came to be involved in the case.
“You look at the team that’s assembled; there’s a lot of other people that’s been involved in this that helped out, and there again, when you work together to do the right thing and bring justice to the family and the victim, this is the result,” Kanawha County Sheriff Joey Crawford said.
Rusnak also praised the collaborative work done by investigators while laying out what penalty Michael Smith now faces. The second-degree murder conviction carries a sentence of 10-40 years, and the four other crimes he was convicted of in connection with Johnson’s death bring their own shorter sentences.
“Because of the work of these and many other individuals, it is unlikely that Michael Smith will ever walk a free man again, and for that I am grateful,” she said.
The process is not complete for the Rusnak’s office, however. She said on Thursday that prosecutors will be seeking stiffer penalties due to Smith’s recidivist status.
“My office is preparing to file recidivist paperwork on Mr. Smith, and so he will be subject to the recidivist act on one of those charges that we will enhance. We intend to enhance,” she said.
An enhanced charge would be upgraded to carry a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. Smith originally faced a charge of first-degree murder that was downgraded by the jury, but Rusnak believes the result is still an accomplishment.
“I believe the jury heard the facts. I think the jury did its job, and we got an outcome that will allow us a sentence that will be acceptable for us,” she said.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard will hand down Smith’s sentence.