Missing woman’s mother charged with murder after burned remains found in shallow grave

NICHOLAS COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ/Gray News) - A West Virginia mother is charged with first-degree murder after investigators say her 26-year-old daughter’s remains were found burned and buried in a shallow grave.

West Virginia State Police arrested 50-year-old Staci Leann Wind on Saturday in connection with the death of her daughter, 26-year-old Ayla Wind. The mother is facing a charge of first-degree murder.

Court records from Nicholas County Magistrate Court have revealed new details in the case.

Troopers say Staci Wind reported her daughter missing May 18, saying she was last seen three days earlier. Ayla Wind’s phone records indicated she had been in contact with her mother in a text saying she was getting snacks at a gas station, according to state police.

On May 22, four days after Ayla Wind was reported missing, investigators found burned, decomposed human remains buried in a shallow grave that had two ferns on top of it in the Summit Lake area of Greenbrier County. The remains were determined to be those of the 26-year-old.

Troopers say they found a burn site nearby with human bones, a phone belonging to Ayla Wind, burned items and a bedsheet with what appeared to be blood.

The next day, troopers searched the Richwood home where both Winds lived. Inside the home, court records say they found bloodstains and bloody handprints in several places, including the victim’s bedroom.

Also according to court records, Staci Wind told investigators her daughter’s mattress was given to an unknown man, but a cut-up mattress with bloodstains was found in garbage bags at the home.

In a search of Staci Wind’s truck, investigators found two plant baskets that matched the size and shape of the ferns placed on the shallow grave, court records say.

Staci Wind is being held at the Central Regional Jail. She is set to appear in court Thursday.

Ayla Wind’s cause of death remains under investigation.