Teen convicted of murdering 4 family members

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A teenager was convicted Thursday after a four-day trial in the deaths of his mother, stepfather, and two younger siblings.

Gavin Smith was found guilty on all charges which included three counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder and one count of using a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Teen charged in quadruple murder case to be tried as an adult; more details released

In December 2020, Smith’s family members were found dead by another relative at a home on Cemetery Hill Drive in Elkview, and Smith was later charged with shooting and killing them.

Smith was only 16 years old at the time of the shootings.

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.

Rebecca Lynn Walker, 17, who was in a relationship with Smith at the time of the murders took a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to four counts of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.

Smith will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Jan. 17.

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