UPDATE: A Raleigh County man has been arrested in relation to a body discovered last month in a wooded area near the intersection of Scott Avenue and Twelfth Street in the Beckley area.
According to reports from Detective Corporal M.P. Deems of the Beckley Police Department, officers with the department were dispatched to the area in question on February 1, 2023, in reference to a possible deceased body.
Upon their arrival at the scene, officers were met by two complainants, Douglas Basham and Mickey Boggs, who had discovered the body. The body of a caucasian female was located by responding officers, and was later identified as Linda Lusk.
The body was discovered lying face-down across the trail. The area was secured by officers as detectives were contacted.
Detective Corporal Deems responded to the scene and assumed the role of primary investigator in the case. The victim was observed to have been wearing a white tank top which was pulled up slightly, a red sports bra, black capri-length sweatpants, and no shoes. The victim was also observed to have been covered in a layer of snow which had just fallen the night prior.
No obvious signs of injury were observed which would indicate a cause of death, though it was observed that the shoeless victim’s feet were suspiciously clean in relation to the muddy path upon which she had been found. This indicated the possibility that the victim did not walk to the location.
On February 2, 2023, Detective Corporal Deems spoke with the victim’s aunt, who stated that the victim had been living in her Flat Top home since August of 2022. The relative stated that she had last made contact with the victim on January 27, 2023, at the Beckley Walmart. While there, the victim is said to have informed the relative of her intention to get a ride to hang out with friends. It is not known with whom the victim left the location.
Detective Corporal Deems learned that the victim had a cell phone which is currently missing, and that the victim’s phone number had been reported to the victim’s parole officer. It was also discovered that the victim would frequently use Facebook Messenger to communicate and would actively post on Facebook. The victim’s final post on her account was on January 30, 2023.
Warrants were obtained for the victim’s phone records as well as her Facebook Messenger records. Review of both records indicated that the victim’s communications ceased on January 30, 2023, after having been consistently active prior.
Through Facebook messages it was determined that on the night of [January 31, 2023] and [February 1, 2023] the victim was in the company of an individual to whom she referred as “Dewey.” Multiple photos of the victim and “Dewey” had been sent by the victim to different individuals. Through the photographs, the individual was identified as Dewey Reese. The victim had also communicated that she had been staying with Reese at 1100 Scott Avenue, Reese’s residence, which is a very short distance from where the body was found.
On February 18, 2023, an interview was conducted with Dewey Reese, who revealed that he had been hanging out with the victim at his residence at 1100 Scott Avenue. Reese disclosed that he and the victim had been doing drugs together. He was using “ice” while she had been using heroin, and that at some point she had overdosed.
Reese advised that upon checking to confirm that the victim was deceased, rather than contact emergency services, he sat thinking about what he should do. Reese ultimately decided to load the body into a shopping cart which he pushed down the aforementioned walking path before disposing of the body in the woods.
During the interview the defendant acknowledged the error in his decision, stating that he should have contacted 911 upon discovering that the victim had passed.
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UPDATE: Beckley Police say the body found in a wooded area has been identified as Linda Lusk, 47, of Beckley.
The cause of death is not being released at this time as the investigation is ongoing.
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BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A citizen discovers a body in a wooded area of Beckley.
Beckley Deputy Chief of Police David Allard tells Lootpress that, today, just after 4 pm, Beckley Police received a call from a concerned citizen who had located the body of a white female in the wooded area at the end of Scott Avenue near the intersection of 12th Street.
The investigation into the cause and manner of death is ongoing.
The woman’s name isn’t being released until family notifications have been made.
Additional information will be released as it becomes available.