Dunbar man pleads guilty to third-degree murder in domestic abuse case
A Dunbar man pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in the 2021 beating death of his longtime girlfriend.
Thomas Leroy Dean, 51, entered the plea on Wednesday, acknowledging he assaulted Amy Jo Craig in November 2021, which led to her death five months later.
“He was an abusive boyfriend,” said Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele. “He beat her on numerous occasions, and on this occasion he beat her so severely that he caused (a) brain bleed.”
Fayette EMS was called to the couple’s Dunbar home on Nov. 21, 2021, and found Craig unresponsive. Police said she had bruising to her eyes and abdomen, and swelling on the sides of her head. Craig was flown to Ruby Memorial hospital in Morgantown, W. Va.
While she was eventually discharged from the hospital, she remained under medical care until she died from her injuries on April 16, 2022.
Craig’s sister and friend told police she spoke to them about the abuse she suffered at Dean’s hands, according to court records. Police also listened to a nearly 42-minute audio recording taken Nov. 21 on Craig’s phone. In the recording, sounds of physical abuse are heard, along with Dean threatening to kill Craig.
Aubele said he offered the plea to third-degree murder because it would be difficult to prove Craig’s death was premeditated, a requirement for a first-degree murder conviction.
Dean entered the plea generally, meaning there was no agreed upon sentence. Aubele said he intended to seek the maximum penalty of 20 to 40 years for third-degree murder when Dean is sentenced next month.
Dean’s attorney, Matthew Jaynes, did not respond to a request for comment.