Maryland man pleads guilty to killing 3 people, burning their bodies
A Maryland man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering three people during a multi-state crime spree in which the victims’ bodies were burned in West Virginia, according to federal prosecutors. He also admitted targeting a fourth person in a murder plot to conceal the crimes.
Monroe Merrell, 29, of Westminster, pleaded guilty to three charges involving kidnapping, murder and witness tampering causing death, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia. He faces life in prison on each count.
The first victim, identified by the initials J.R., was severely beaten and stabbed multiple times at an apartment in Westminster in March 2020. Merrell and others then transported him across state lines into West Virginia.
Merrell stabbed J.R. multiple times during the trip, killing him, according to prosecutors. The group took his body to a wooded area near Rippon in Jefferson County, doused it with gasoline and set it on fire.
A nearby resident saw the body burning near a road the following morning and called emergency services, leading to a multi-state investigation.
In April 2020, Merrell became concerned that two witnesses to the beating and kidnapping would speak to law enforcement. The pair were taken from Maryland to the Falling Waters area of West Virginia, where they were drugged and partially incapacitated.
The victims, identified as 18-year-old D.T. and 33-year-old H.G., were killed. Their bodies were burned and their remains were disposed of in the Potomac River.
Merrell also admitted targeting a fourth person, identified as E.D., in a separate plot to have her killed as part of his effort to conceal the crimes. Prosecutors previously identified her as “Jane Doe.”
Merrell was the last defendant in the case to plead guilty. David Sanford Jr., John Black III, Jeffrey Smith Jr., April Braner and Norman Bradford previously admitted to charges stemming from the crimes.
Prosecutors had sought to reinstate the death penalty against Merrell, but the request was denied in October 2025. Sentencing hearings for all six defendants are scheduled for January 25, 2027.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
