MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Testimony continues Wednesday in a Monongalia County murder trial.
Joseph Nevera allegedly killed Kimberly Osborne and buried her in a shallow grave.
Monongalia County Prosecutor Gabrielle Mucciola presented the opening statement to the jury on Tuesday afternoon, where she detailed an alleged multi-year history of domestic violence involving the couple that ultimately led up to the night of Mother’s Day 2024, when Osborne was last seen alive.
Defense attorney Christopher Wilson told the jury Osborne’s alleged drug use and relationships with other people, including seeing a married man while still living with Nevera, may have played a role in her disappearance.
Elizabeth ‘Rose’ Osborne, Kimberly Osborne’s mother, was the first witness to testify on Tuesday, where she detailed the relationship between Nevera and her daughter that was openly confrontational. While mentioning the reported domestic incident that was filed in Monongalia County Magistrate Court back in 2022, she later stated that interactions between Nevera and her daughter remained confrontational in the years ahead of Mother’s Day 2024. While mentioning interactions that included an instance of Nevera slamming his own head into a wall, Osborne’s mother stated that evidence showing a possible interaction turning deadly was seen for a long time.
“I talked to her on the phone one day and they were arguing, and she said, ‘Keep it up, Joe. I’ll have your expletive thrown back in jail,’” said Osborne, discussing one of the incidents involving Nevera and her daughter. “And he said, ‘I’ll kill you before you put me back in jail.’”
Osborne’s mother also stated that on the day of her disappearance, her daughter was in the process of moving out into a cabin that Nevera owned near River Road. This was part of an arrangement that included a payment of $2,000 while allowing her to live rent-free for year, an agreement that was affirmed by the defense. That day, Nevera also arrived at her home with a violent temper while Osborne was visiting, with her later leaving to get gas and get items from the defendant’s home. A familiar pattern that was discussed in the past by the two before Osborne’s death.
“And I used to tell her, ‘Don’t threaten him because one of these days he could really hurt you,’” said Osborne.
West Virginia State Police Corporal Patrick Maidens wrapped up the first day of testimony, where bodycam footage showed the vehicle that Osborne was last seen in, her mother’s, parked in a suspicious location along Trope Hill. The vehicle was discovered less than a week after she was reported missing, with the door unlocked and no keys found within the vicinity. Coupled with the conversations that took place with Osborne’s mother ahead of the vehicle being found, signs reflecting a bad situation were noticeable ahead of Osborne’s body being found seven months later.
“The location is the reason I activated my body cam, it was found to be very unusual for that area,” said Maidens. “In my past experiences of responding to Trope Hill to either suspicious vehicles, abandoned vehicles, or welfare checks, that’s not where I would typically find a vehicle.”
Corporal Maidens is scheduled to complete his testimony on Wednesday.