1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,000 Mountain State Mysteries contains adult content that may not be suitable for all audiences. 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:35,840 Listener discretion is advised. I'm your host Mark and I'm Courtney and this is Mountain State Mysteries. 3 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:54,080 Today we want to tell you the story of a Mingo County Sheriff who was murdered after only 4 00:00:54,080 --> 00:01:01,280 serving three months and two days in his position in the corruption in a small town's justice system. 5 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:09,600 This is the story of Walter Eugene Crum. Walter Eugene Crum was a graduate of 6 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:15,280 Barch High School and began his career in law enforcement as a correctional officer for four 7 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:21,840 years serving with the Matewan and Dale Barton police departments in Mingo County, West Virginia. 8 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:29,440 Crum also served as a police officer in the Matewan Police Department while working with Chief 9 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:36,640 Dave Stratton for 11 years before accepting the Chief of Police position with the town of Dale 10 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:42,480 Barton. After achieving the role of Chief of Police in Dale Barton, Crum stepped down and 11 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:49,040 ran successfully for the office of Mingo County Magistrate. He served 10 years on the bench 12 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:55,840 as a Mingo County Sheriff. While he was waiting to take the office, he was hired by the prosecuting 13 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:03,440 attorney C. Michael Sparks as a special investigator for the Mingo County's Prosecutor's Office. 14 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:11,760 Eugene Crum had nearly three decades of direct law enforcement experience as his qualification 15 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:18,080 to become Sheriff. Crum's term as Sheriff of Mingo County was brief but made a huge impact. 16 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:26,080 Within the 93 days that Crum was the Sheriff of Mingo County, he had 57 felony drug convictions. 17 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:30,800 According to the Mingo County Circuit Judge Michael Thornsberry, Crum had done more than any 18 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:37,440 other Sheriff had done in the previous 30 years and he had made more indictments that Mingo County 19 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:43,920 had seen in the previous eight years. As Sheriff, Crum was determined to put a stop to illegal drug 20 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:52,000 trafficking in the county. As a sign of dedication to Mingo County and to his passion in law enforcement, 21 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:58,560 Crum would eat his lunch in his official cruiser every day just to observe a pill mill that had 22 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:05,680 been shut down a few years before to make sure it did not open again. Even before Crum took office 23 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:12,800 as Sheriff in January, he worked day and night making arrests and obtaining indictments while 24 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:20,480 he was a drug test force commander. While Sheriff Crum, his deputies and other law enforcement 25 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:27,680 agencies in Mingo County worked to wipe out Crum, especially targeting drug dealers. Crum had 26 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:33,600 received personal threats because of his fight to stop prescription drug abuse. When Crum was 27 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:39,600 confronted by Judge Michael Thornsberry about the threats that he had been receiving, he said, 28 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:45,360 I'm fighting back. I'm going to fight the good fight. It was only minutes later that he was murdered. 29 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:52,640 Judge Thornsberry was later sentenced to four years in prison for corruption, scheme involving a 30 00:03:52,640 --> 00:04:00,080 defendant who had information about Crum's illegal prescription use and can't pay contributions, violations. 31 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:22,080 Crum was shot at Point Blank Range while sitting in his official vehicle in a parking lot. While he 32 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:30,000 was eating his lunch at the corner of Third Avenue and Harvey Street on Wednesday, 33 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:38,640 April 3, 2013, in Williamson, West Virginia, a little bit after that, Tennis Melvin Maynard, 34 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:46,080 37, of Raglan, West Virginia, walked up to the Sheriff's SUV and at Point Blank Range, 35 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:52,960 allegedly shot Crum in the forehead in Temple Region, killing him instantly. After killing him, 36 00:04:52,960 --> 00:05:01,200 Maynard fled from the scene traveling south on US 52 towards Dale Barton, where he was shot and 37 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:07,360 transported to Regional Medical Center in Logan County, West Virginia and was later transferred 38 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:13,600 to Cabell Huntington Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia. Crum was pronounced dead at the scene 39 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:21,040 by the Mingo County Medical Examiner, Mike Casey, and was transported to the West Virginia Medical 40 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:27,920 Examiner's Office in Trilson, West Virginia for an autopsy. The hang gun, allegedly used to murder 41 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:35,680 Crum, was confiscated from Maynard's vehicle and was identified by the Mingo County Sheriff's Department 42 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:41,200 Sergeant Joe Smith as a compact 40-caliber Glock hang gun. 43 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:47,600 Resident Jerry Kahn stood near the site of the murder hours later. The drug cracked down clearly 44 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:54,720 at the forefront of his thoughts. He said he told them right before he got in a sheriff, 45 00:05:54,720 --> 00:06:01,040 if you're dealing drugs, I'm coming after you. I'm cleaning this town up, Kahn said. He got out 46 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:06,400 just to do one thing and that's to clean up this town. That's all that man tried to do. 47 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:11,680 Melvin Maynard, Tennis Melvin's father, said his 37-year-old son developed 48 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:18,320 mental issues as he was exposed to chemicals on a job in an Alabama colmum. His father would not 49 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:24,240 elaborate on what kind of mental health problems his son had, but he said he believed his son would 50 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:29,920 have shot the first person he saw. He admitted that his son should have been in a hospital, 51 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:36,800 adding that his son had previously been in an institution. It was later revealed that Crum 52 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:44,080 coached Maynard in boxing as a child and was accused of abusing him. Crum's funeral was held 53 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:51,680 on Sunday, April 7th at 1 p.m. inside the Mingo Central High School Gymnasium. Several thousand 54 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:59,120 attended the visitation and funeral. Over 500 law enforcement officials were in attendance from 55 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:06,800 all across the United States, including Alaska, California, Mississippi, and Texas. 56 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:14,480 And 273 police cruisers participated in the funeral procession as a show of respect. 57 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,040 You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries. 58 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:34,000 Maynard's family claimed that this shooting was motivated by the fact that Maynard was raped 59 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:40,560 by Crum when he was a teenager. Court documents revealed that another rape allegation was brought 60 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:47,920 up against Crum. It is alleged that Crum raped a 19-year-old woman in 2002 in the back of a 61 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:55,200 police cruiser while two officers sat in the front, turning up the radio to cover up the attack. 62 00:07:56,240 --> 00:08:02,800 The allegations are part of a wider investigation into the murky world of Mingo County where all 63 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:09,760 allegations of murder, public corruption, illegal drugs, moonshine, and illicit affairs have rumbled 64 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:18,960 for decades. In an article, Devana Ball said, I've heard the stories. It's not true. I don't believe 65 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:25,840 it. I've known Crum for decades. If it was true, why didn't it come out when he was running for 66 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:34,480 sheriff? Why are they waiting for the man to be dead to bring it out? He's a hero. He'll stay our 67 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:40,800 hero. He's a good man. From all of my research, I could tell that the town of Williamson was 68 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:48,480 basically divided over this. Some believe that he did it and some just didn't. It was basically a 69 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:55,440 he-said-she-said situation going on and the only people who really knew are the ones who were there. 70 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:02,720 After the death of Crum, James Smith, who ran against Eugene, was appointed sheriff. 71 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:08,480 Not too long after the murder of Eugene Crum, accusations of corruption in the Mingo County 72 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:16,960 justice system began to come to light. As the FBI was investigating the motives for Eugene's murder, 73 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:23,360 in a Charles Sincassette article, it stated that the investigation had been going on for over a year 74 00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:31,280 at this point. The former U.S. attorney, Booth Goodwin's office, was over it. During this time, 75 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:36,000 there were claims that Crum had been purchasing prescription painkillers. According to these 76 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:42,880 claims, he owed George White, the man who made the signs for his campaign, $3,000. 77 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:48,320 Allegedly, Crum didn't want to pay and he reached out to other people in the legal system to get 78 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:55,920 the man put away on drug charges. Two involved have denied all allegations, but one was expected to 79 00:09:55,920 --> 00:10:02,080 plead guilty. In the article, it stated that Eugene just owed $3,000 when it came to all the 80 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:08,400 materials owed for his campaign with no mention of drugs. It was after George White was arrested, 81 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:13,920 he said he had been selling pills to Eugene. When it was found out that George was talking, 82 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:20,480 there was a rumor that there was an attempt to replace his lawyers by the corrupt officials. 83 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:27,280 His current lawyer was acting as a middleman between his client and the police. White actually 84 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:33,840 agreed to change lawyers due to the fact he knew the corruption in the legal system would make sure 85 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:41,360 that he was found guilty. Allegedly, with him agreeing to the deal, he was sentenced to one to 86 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:48,400 14 years for selling drugs to an undercover cop. From what I've seen in my research, 87 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:54,480 most people in the town of Williamson knew about the corruption and knew what to expect 88 00:10:55,120 --> 00:11:01,120 with the outcome because it wasn't uncommon for people to plead guilty either way. 89 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:08,320 According to the same article, there were other charges pending against Crum. The FBI was 90 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:15,040 investigating Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum for money laundering by raging to buy 91 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:20,960 campaign signs with cash obtained from a doctor convicted of running a pill meal. 92 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:28,160 According to a federal search warrant, the warrant that was unsealed last week, 93 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:34,800 Dr. Diane Schaefer, paid hundreds of thousands in cash to George White to make Eugene's signs. 94 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:42,480 According to the warrant issued to search Crum's phone, the FBI was also investigating whether 95 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:48,960 Crum committed male fraud by submitting fake campaign disclosure forms by mail. 96 00:11:49,680 --> 00:11:56,560 And also, if Crum possessed legal drugs and if he intended to distribute those drugs. 97 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:02,400 In September 2012, Diane plead guilty and was sentenced to six months for the misuse of her 98 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:08,400 drug enforcement administration registration number. In the plea, it came as a result of a 99 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:14,480 federal probe that examined more than 118,000 prescriptions that Diane had given out since 100 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:21,920 2003. Someone who knew Eugene and the others involved talked to the US today in September 2013 101 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:28,000 and said he's dead and he can't defend himself. But I knew him all of his life and I never knew 102 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:35,600 him to be involved in it. As far as we knew, it was all nice people. We don't know who to trust 103 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:41,680 now. In the same USA Today article, it said last month, federal prosecutors charged George 104 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:48,000 Thornsberry with an unrelated conspiracy. They said they had powerful judge of 16 years had 105 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:53,440 an affair with his secretary and repetitively tried to frame her husband for crimes he did not 106 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:55,360 commit after she broke things off. 107 00:12:55,360 --> 00:13:19,120 In 2015, Eugene's widow filed a lawsuit against the funeral home and several county officials 108 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:27,120 over the burial expenses. She claimed in the suit that two Mingo County commissioners and a former 109 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:34,480 commissioner had told her that they would handle the expenses of the funeral, at which point the 110 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:40,880 funeral home put together an elaborate funeral before sending her the bill. The suit was dismissed 111 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:47,440 by the county circuit court and the decision was appealed to the state supreme court which further 112 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:54,000 backed up the decision. The reason it was ruled this way is that there was apparently no contract 113 00:13:54,000 --> 00:14:00,640 in place between Rosie and the commissioners. If all of this is true, it's so messed up. 114 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:08,560 We both know how expensive funerals can be, but to have one be elaborate and held in a high school, 115 00:14:08,560 --> 00:14:15,680 you know it's going to cost a pretty penny. Again, from my research, I'm not sure what she did, 116 00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:22,560 but I can't help but feel bad for her. She lost her husband, therefore losing half of her income. 117 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:30,400 She gets told the funeral would get covered, then she gets the bill, then to top it all off, 118 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,640 she's dealing with her husband's reputation being drugged through the mud. 119 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:41,760 In 2018, Tennis was evaluated again to see if he was competent enough to stand trial. He was 120 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:48,640 actually deemed competent at this time. A member of the prosecutor's office, Chuck Miller said that 121 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:56,080 at this point that he expected may nurse defense to try to put forward an insanity plea. In Metro 122 00:14:56,080 --> 00:15:02,000 News article, Miller said competency is an issue whether or not you can stand trial, 123 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:09,600 once he goes to your state of mind at the time of the crime. During his competency hearing, 124 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:15,040 media was not allowed inside the hearing, but according to court officials, Kittle ruled that 125 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:20,000 may nurse should have been sent back to the sharp hospital for further evaluation. 126 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:26,080 Canola County prosecutor Chuck Miller said Kittle felt more information was needed. 127 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:33,040 The issue of competency of the defendant has been before the court for some time, 128 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:39,680 and there was a hearing yesterday on that issue. The judge in the case, Kittle returned him to 129 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:45,920 sharp hospital for further evaluation. With an update in 90 days, the judge felt additional 130 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:52,640 information was needed. Since the incarceration of Tennis, his father who served as the specs 131 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:59,040 person of the family passed away. Tennis has been in a mental hospital in western West Virginia 132 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:07,520 since 2018. As of right now, I haven't been able to find any more updates since the trial from 2018. 133 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:15,280 I'm not sure if his mental state has gone down, or if they got a second opinion on him. 134 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:21,680 As far as Rosie is concerned, according to a Harold Dispatch article, I've been a train wreck 135 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:28,480 since all of this happened, but I've finally kind of moved on with my life. I hope the justice system 136 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:33,440 does what they are supposed to do. She is convinced that the claims against her husband 137 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:41,600 are false. She said, I know what kind of husband I had. To this day, we still have no idea 138 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:49,840 the true motive as to why Tennis targeted Eugene. Could it be from the sexual assault he suffered 139 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:56,880 as a child? Could it be from his mental issues? Either way, there's a lot of people out there 140 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:00,880 who believe Tennis knew exactly what he was doing. 141 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:43,200 Next time on Mountain State Mysteries, we're going to tell you the story of a woman whose death to 142 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:49,200 this day is a local legend. If you find yourself enjoying Mountain State Mysteries, take a second 143 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:55,360 to rate it on your favorite podcasting service. It helps others find good true crime podcasts. 144 00:17:55,360 --> 00:18:01,680 Don't forget to share our episode and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and wherever you 145 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:25,600 listen to podcasts. For the show notes, check out our website, MountainStakeMysteriesPodcast.com.