Man indicted in the deaths of family members

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - A man has been indicted on murder charges in connection with the shooting deaths of four family members.

Gavin Blaine Smith was 16-years-old at the time his mother, stepfather and two siblings were murdered.

In December 2020, four members of the same family were found dead by another relative at a home in the 1300 block of Cemetery Hill Drive in Elkview.

The victims were later identified as Daniel Dale Long, 37, Risa Mae Saunders, 39, Gage Ripley, 12, and Jameson Long, 3.

According to a Kanawha County Circuit Court order, after the murders Smith was found hiding behind a dresser in a third-floor room of a home along River Haven Road in Clendenin.

The order states that several articles of clothing were found on or near the suspect. Some tested positive for the presence of blood, and the blood matched the two juvenile victims.

Rebecca Lynn Walker took a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to four counts of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Investigators say Walker and Smith were in a relationship when the murders happened in 2020.

The Kanawha County Grand Jury also indicted Smith for the use of an assault weapon during the commission of a felony.

Check out our previous coverage of the story here.