CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The new trial for a Kanawha County man previously convicted of killing four members of his family is on track to move forward.
Gavin Smith, 21, appeared before Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard on Tuesday for a pretrial conference in which neither the prosecution nor the defense presented any motions. Smith was convicted in 2022 of killing his stepfather, Dale Long; mother, Risa Mae Saunders; and brothers, Gage Ripley and Jameson Long.
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals vacated that conviction as the result of objections to instructions given to the jury.
“There were some statements made during the course of the trial that were attempted to be clarified during the jury instructions, and the Supreme Court ruled that that was not an appropriate instruction, and we needed to come back and retry the case because of that,” Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Debra Rusnak said.
Smith reportedly shot all four victims at a home in Elkview and initially received three life sentences with mercy, as well as an additional 50-year sentence for three counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, and one count of using a firearm during the commission of a felony.
He was 16 years old at the time of the murders, and the Supreme Court decided that a new trial was necessary because of instructions that indicated his juvenile status made him eligible for parole if convicted of first-degree murder. Rusnak believes they are ready to present the case again.
“I don’t ever like to assume what a jury will do, but, again, we do plan to put our case forward fully, completely, and fairly and leave it in the hands of the jury, and we are certainly prepared to do that,” she said.
Smith’s trial is scheduled to begin on February 23.