RIPLEY, W.Va. — A Fayette County man was sentenced to a total of 36 years in prison Tuesday after previous guilty pleas linked to injuries he inflicted on his pregnant girlfriend during a beating near Kenna in Jackson County last year.
Logan Willis, 22, of Oak Hill, received consecutive sentences during a hearing in Jackson County Circuit Court.
Willis pleaded guilty to attempted murder, two counts of malicious assault and domestic battery.
Willis called Jackson County 911 on June 9, 2025 and told dispatchers he thought he had killed his girlfriend.
Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger told MetroNews at the time, Willis had a meeting planned with his estranged girlfrend to exchange custody of the young child they share. Mellinger said the victim got into Willis’ car to travel to Walmart to purchase things the child would need for the weekend. Mellinger believed Willis never had any intention of a custody exchange, or a trip to Walmart. He thinks the plan all along was to get her into the vehicle, transport her to a remote area, and kill her.
“He left her thinking he had murdered her. It appeared to be all hands on. She was beaten so badly she lost consciousness and in his own words he beat her until she quit breathing. Then he dragged her up into the woods to hide the body,” Mellinger said at the time.