UPDATE: BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Rashad Thompson, who bludgeoned a 7 year old boy to death with a hammer last year, was found guilty of First Degree Murder on Thursday following a seemingly interminable stretch of court proceedings which began at the close of October.
According to Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Ben Hatfield, Thompson was found guilty not only of First Degree murder, but on all five additional counts for which he faced charges including Attempted First Degree Murder, Malicious Wounding, Child Abuse Resulting in Death, and two counts of Domestic Battery.
The verdict comes in the wake of the declining of a plea deal by Thompson – 35 of Beckley – which would have seen him submit a guilty plea on the First Degree Murder charge.
Trial proceedings began on Monday, October 31, 2022, and continued for well over a week, extending a third of the way through the month of November before a verdict was finally reached.
Hatfield also confirms that the jury underwent a two-hour deliberation before issuing the guilty verdict.
In light of the defense’s request for mercy, a mercy recommendation was added.
According to Hatfield, this would technically mean Thompson could be eligible for parole in 15 years, though if sentencing is issued consecutively, it will be over 35 years before Thompson could potentially qualify for eligibility for parole.
The sentencing hearing for the charges is scheduled to occur on Wednesday, December 14, at 9:00am.
Additional LOOTPRESS crime coverage can be found here.
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BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Trial proceedings were set Monday for a man who viciously attacked a 7 year old with a hammer and stabbed the child’s mother in the face last year.
Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Ben Hatfield confirms that testimony proceedings to determine the fate of the perpetrator of the incident, Rashad Thompson are set to begin on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
Testimony will follow jury selection, which is set for Monday, October 31, 2022 as ordered by Raleigh Circuit Court Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick
The incident in question occurred last March at the Lewis Ritchie Apartments located at 408 Industrial Drive in Beckley, and saw Thompson – 35 – attack Felicia Brown – 24 at the time, and with whom Thompson had been staying – with a knife.
Brown suffered a number of wounds to the face from the incident, during which Thompson also struck Brown’s 7 year old son repeatedly with a hammer, effectively and horrifically ending his life.
Upon the arrival of authorities on the scene, Thompson reportedly declared “I just lost it.”
Thompson was offered a plea deal by Hatfield in March which, if accepted, would’ve seen Thompson plead guilty to first degree murder.
The plea was declined in June, Hatfield says, and Thompson will now face charges of first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, malicious wounding, and child abuse resulting in death.