Clarke sheriff calls off search for missing woman after body discovered in W.Va. home
By Monty Tayloe
The Winchester Star
Winchester — The 24-year-old Winchester man believed responsible for the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend and the shooting death of his brother is in a West Virginia jail.
Hours after the Saturday arrest of Justin Shane Slater, investigators recovered a body that could be that of Slater’s ex-girlfriend. Kayleigh Marie Plamondon, 22, of Loudoun County went missing Tuesday night while she was house-sitting in Clarke County.
 |
| Slater was driving this stolen Volkwagen Golf at the time of his arrest. Law enforcement officials were able to apprehend the wanted man after receiving a tip from a Wardensville convenience store manager. (Photo by Scott Mason) |
Shortly after his arrest Saturday afternoon, Slater stood handcuffed alongside a police cruiser on Trout Run Road outside Wardensville, W.Va.
The car he had been driving rested in a ditch on the side of the road, and two small dogs that reportedly belonged to Plamondon were sitting calmly inside.
Slater’s hair was cut shorter than in the pictures circulated by police during the three-day manhunt.
Slater appeared calm and relaxed at the time of his arrest and was photographed smiling.
“He surrendered without any resistance whatsoever,” said Hardy County (W.Va.) Sheriff’s Office Deputy David Warren, who arrested Slater.
Law enforcement officials had been searching for Slater since early Thursday morning, when they discovered his brother Gregory Scott Slater, 28, shot to death inside the victim’s Frederick County home on Valley Mill Road.
On Sunday, Clarke County Sheriff Tony Roper said the search for Plamondon had been suspended.
The announcement came after investigators discovered an unidentified body Saturday in a house on Timberline Drive in West Virginia near George Washington National Forest. According to Hardy County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. D.N. Bishoff, the remains were female.
The house had once been owned by the Slaters’ parents. Neighbors who had seen Justin Slater at the house over the weekend alerted investigators, according to Frederick County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Robert Eckman.
Roper said the body will be autopsied today in Charleston, W.Va.
Justin Slater’s arrest occurred at 1:55 p.m. Saturday after a Wardensville 7-Eleven manager recognized Slater while he was in the store, Warren said.
 |
Law enforcement officials search Justin Slater after his capture Saturday afternoon on Trout Run Road in Wardensville, W.Va. The 24-year-old Winchester man has been charged with the first-degree murder of his brother, Gregory Scott Slater of Frederick County. Justin Slater is also a suspect in the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend, Kayleigh Marie Plamondon. An autopsy is being conducted today on the body of an unidentified woman found Saturday in his family’s former West Virginia home. |
About 30 minutes after the store manager called the police, Warren was headed out of town on Trout Run Road when he spotted Justin Slater driving in the opposite direction.
Warren said that he recognized the wanted man and pulled his police cruiser across the road to block the vehicle being driven by Slater. Warren got out of the cruiser with his gun drawn and pointed toward Justin Slater.
Warren said the suspect immediately stopped the car and didn’t resist when the deputy pulled him from the vehicle and forced him to lay on the ground.
Justin Slater was driving a black Volkswagon Golf, which investigators discovered had been reported stolen earlier that day in Schuylkill County, Pa., about 160 miles north of Winchester.
Investigators are still searching in Pennsylvania for the brownish-gold colored Jeep Cherokee that Justin Slater was reportedly driving when he went missing, Eckman said Sunday.
The path to Justin Slater’s arrest began Wednesday after Plamondon’s family reported her missing.
When officers executed a search warrant on the home Wednesday, they found signs of violence, including multiple bloodstains throughout the house, according to court documents.
A friend of the missing woman told police that Plamondon said she received a number of calls Tuesday night from her former boyfriend, Justin Slater, and that she had been having problems with him, according to the search warrant.
Eckman said that when investigators tried to locate Justin Slater, they couldn’t find him, and then tried to reach him through family and friends.
When investigators learned that Gregory Slater hadn’t shown up for work and had been out of contact since Tuesday, they searched his home, and found his body, dead of a gunshot wound, at 3:48 a.m. Thursday.
The discovery launched the manhunt for his brother, and increased the urgency of the search for Plamondon.
On Friday, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office began searching the Shenandoah River with search and rescue dogs, but found nothing.
As they searched, Kayleigh Plamondon’s mother Debbie pleaded with Justin Slater through television news cameras.
“I really need to hear from you now, because if I can go to Kayleigh that would be my next step — to find her and make sure that she is safe,” Debbie Plamondon said.
 |
| Two dogs belonging to missing woman Kayleigh Marie Plamondon were found with Slater when he was apprehended. (Photo by Scott Mason) |
Saturday, Slater was arrested and investigators executed a search warrant on his family’s former West Virginia home.
On Sunday, Roper said that investigators would interview Justin Slater and continue to gather evidence.
Slater is being held at Potomac Highland Regional Jail in Augusta, W.Va., on charges of first-degree murder and using a firearm in commission of a felony.
He may also face charges related to crimes committed in West Virginia, including concealment and transportation of a deceased human body.
Scott Mason contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment