Couple charged in Columbus woman’s death
Family mourns for woman fatally shot in West Virginia
Keyairy Wilson drove to West Virginia last month with her boyfriend to sell drugs and make enough money to start over again in Columbus.
But her boyfriend caught a ride home a few days later, leaving her behind.
The body of Wilson, 31, was found Saturday by two men foraging for ramps — a type of wild onion —in a remote, densely wooded area near Volga, West Virginia.
The mother of four had slashes on her body and was shot once, said Robert Hilliard, police chief in Clarksburg, a city of about 16,000 people, where Wilson was killed.
“She saw an opportunity. She took a chance,” said Raisheda Mitchell-Angus, who is married to Wilson’s brother.
Wilson was homeless, going from place to place, staying with friends or family members, her sister in-law said. Her children, ages 14, 10, 9 and 7 months, are now cared for by various family members.
Mitchell-Angus, who has 11 children of her own, cleared a bedroom and took in Wilson several months ago. The two were both pregnant at the same time and delivered nine days apart. She helped Wilson find a job.
But in November, she asked Wilson to move out after the two parted ways. She last spoke to her in early March.
Mitchell-Angus has since followed up with family members, friends and residents in Clarksburg to learn what happened to Wilson in West Virginia.
She said Wilson planned to sell drugs and make enough money in Clarksburg to pay the first month’s rent for a place of her own in Columbus. Wilson traveled in a van with a boyfriend and met a couple who claimed they could sell the drugs for her.
Wilson stayed in a house with Daniel C. Amsler, 54, and Elizabeth Ladybird Jenkins, 51. She died in that red, two-story house, too, police said.
“There was quite a bit of evidence” the couple tried to conceal, Hilliard said.
Amsler and Jenkins both face conspiracy to commit murder and murder charges. The couple took approximately $1,500 in cash and crack cocaine from Wilson, Hilliard said.
Wilson’s boyfriend, who did not want to comment, returned to Columbus before Wilson was killed. Her van had broken down and she wasn’t leaving without her money, Mitchell-Angus said.
She said Wilson’s boyfriend told the family that he thought something was wrong. He told them he received text messages on March 19 from her phone that he knew she didn’t send.
Wilson’s father, Robert Wilson, called Clarksburg police on March 21 to report her missing.
A detective made up fliers, and members of the police department, sheriff’s offices, and U.S. marshals and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched for Wilson.
Police said Amsler and Jenkins drove about 30 minutes to dump her body in the secluded woods in Barbour County. Her body was there several days, Hilliard said.
This week, MitchellAngus sat on her front porch on Columbus’ Near East Side, talking about Wilson. The babies they carried at the same time now are 7 months old. It will be the first of many birthdays her sister-in-law will miss.
“She was a good mom. She drove her kids to school,” Mitchell-Angus said. “It’s just a really sad situation.”
A middle-school teacher from Grove City was arrested Wednesday night on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography through several computers at his house.
Michael J. Walsh, 60, who teaches at Pleasant View Middle School in the SouthWestern City school district, was arrested at his home in the 3700 block of Carlotta Street in Grove City by the Franklin County sheriff’s office. He is charged with two felony counts of pandering sexually oriented materials involving a minor, based on an investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
According to a release from the sheriff’s office, “Mr. Walsh’s residence was identified as a location (where) child pornography was being downloaded and distributed throughout Franklin County.”
Several computers and data storage devices were seized from Walsh’s house. On them, task force officers say they found multiple videos and images, several “depicting children 5 years old and under engaging in sexual activity with adults.”
Walsh was arraigned Thursday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court and was ordered held on a $100,085 bond.
The sheriff’s office contacted school officials Wednesday night to inform them and Walsh was immediately put on administrative leave, South-Western spokeswoman Sandra Nekoloff said.
“It’s our understanding that none of the charges are related to conduct on school grounds, nor do they involve our students,” Nekoloff said.
Walsh has taught in the district since 1997, she said. Recently he has been teaching a series of three career-exploration classes at Pleasant View.