Uncovering the Dark Truth: Gavin's Family Massacre

​In December 2020, 16-year-old Gavin Smith from Elkview, West Virginia, fatally shot his mother, Risa Mae Saunders, 39; his stepfather, Daniel Dale Long, 37; and his two younger brothers, Gage Ripley, 12, and Jameson Long, 3. The victims were discovered days later by family members. ​

In December 2022, a Kanawha County jury convicted Smith on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder. The following month, Judge Kenneth Ballard sentenced him to life in prison with mercy for the first-degree murder charges, making him eligible for parole after 15 years, as mandated by West Virginia law for juveniles. He also received a consecutive 40-year sentence for the second-degree murder conviction and an additional 10 years for a firearms charge. ​

During the trial, evidence revealed that Smith's parents had forbidden him from seeing his girlfriend, Rebecca Walker. On the night of the murders, Smith was on a video call with Walker before, during, and after the killings. Walker later pleaded guilty to four counts of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. ​

Judge Ballard described the murders as "an act of pure evil," noting that Smith showed no remorse for his actions. ​

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