Teen to face sentencing in Weirton homicides
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NEW CUMBERLAND -- A now-15-year-old boy admitted Tuesday in Hancock County Circuit Court he shot and killed his mother and sister two years ago in Weirton.
Connor Mark Crowe waived his right to have his case tried in juvenile court along with his right to a jury trial, telling Judge Jason Cuomo he wanted to plead guilty as an adult to an information charging him with two counts of second-degree murder.
Because he's being tried as an adult, Crowe could face as much as 10 to 40 years on each count, served consecutively, at sentencing. Because he was under 18 when the crime was committed, he could be eligible for parole after 15 years of confinement. An information, a statement of the essential facts of the offense charged, means the case doesn't have to go to the grand jury for indictment.
"I'm cognizant of the fact he was 13 years of age, but my job and my duty as the prosecutor of this county is to protect the public and hold people accountable for their actions," Prosecuting Attorney Steven Dragisich said afterward. "So, we will be seeking the maximum penalty allowable by law, a 40-year sentence for each offense, which would be a total of 80 years (served consecutively)."
Crowe was 13 in September 2020 when prosecutors say he fired multiple gun shots into the chest and torso of his mother, 39-year-old Melissa Rowland, and his 15-year-old sister, killing both of them, then ran out of their Ardmore Avenue home and told neighbors a stranger had walked into the house and gunned them down. The boy told his neighbor he then shot the stranger in the shoulder and pulled a gun out of his pajama pants, Dragisich said.
Bullet fragments and shell casings police found at the scene matched the gun Crowe had in his pants, and gunshot residue was found on the youth, Dragisich said.
Police said there was no evidence that anyone had forced their way into the home or fled through the back door, and another neighbor told police the only person he saw enter or leave the residence was Crowe.
Cuomo stopped the proceedings twice, the first time because Crowe appeared unsure if he wanted to waive his rights to appeal.
"There was a long hesitation there, and every time that happens to me it puts me on my heels," the judge said. "I don't want anybody to plead guilty who is hesitant to any degree -- I would rather have every defendant (go to) trial in front of me, all the time. I'll give you another shot … what is the hesitancy?"
After consulting with his client, Attorney Justin Hershberger told the judge the youth was "prepared to go forward. The gravity of the situation hit him a little bit, he's still ready to move forward. He was also considering the long list of (rights he was waving.)"
"I don't mind long pauses, that means they're contemplating things and tossing things back-and-forth in their heads," Cuomo replied. "But I need to make sure you want to give up the right to present this case to a jury and take a shot that they'd give you (lesser penalty) than you're facing today."
He also interrupted Dragisich's recitation of evidence because Crowe was talking to his attorneys, Hershberger and Weirton attorney P. Zachary Stewart, rather than listening to the information, because he needed Crowe to tell him if he understood. Cuomo had Dragisich begin again, this time with the defendant listening to his every word, and at the end telling the judge he heard and understood it all.
Crowe did request a pre-sentence investigation be done, so sentencing will be delayed until that's finished. The defense and state will be permitted to present witnesses, and Crowe himself will be allowed to speak if he chooses.
"We all have kids, everybody wants the best for them and they have their whole life ahead of them," Dragisich said after the proceedings ended. "But in this case, a choice was made where he took the life he could have had ahead of him. He made a decision. That's the difference in cases like this where you have a young individual, but you have to look at the other side -- you look at the families you're protecting, the public at large you're protecting, and that makes it a little easier."
He called it a "terrible tragedy."
"I can't begin to imagine the pain the family has in this situation," he said. "I hope this in some way, brings them some form of closure, helps them continue to heal. It was extremely difficult, and my heart goes out to the family."
But the fact that Crowe concocted a story about a stranger slipping into the house and shooting his mother and sister to death "shows me it was calculated, that there was little regard for them."
"There were two women who lost their lives, one of them close to his age," Dragisich said. "That makes it a little easier."
Crowe will remain at a juvenile facility until he turns 18 in January 2025, at which point he will return to court and a judge will decide where he will complete his sentence. Cuomo told him that, because he was a minor when the murders occurred, regardless of his sentence he would be eligible for -- but not guaranteed -- a chance at parole after serving 15 years in confinement.
Had his case remained in juvenile court, he could have been charged with premeditated murder.
"There were some possibly worse scenarios for him," Dragisich said.