Background: News footage near the scene in Big Chimney, W.Va., where the remains of Shayln Harvey were found on May 15 (WOWK). Insets (left to right): Shayln Harvey and James Truman (Kanawha County Sheriff”s Office).
A West Virginia resident is facing allegations of abusing his teenage stepdaughter just a fortnight before her body was discovered at their family home.
James Truman, aged 52, was taken into custody on May 8, shortly after his stepdaughter, 16-year-old Shayln Harvey, was declared missing. The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office verified on Monday that Shayln’s remains were discovered on the premises of their Big Chimney, West Virginia residence the previous Friday. Although Truman has not been formally charged with Shayln’s death, he remains in detention facing charges of incest and sexual abuse by a person in a position of trust.
Reports from the sheriff’s office indicate that Shayln was reported missing on May 4, having last been seen two days prior near the location where her body was ultimately found. At the time, authorities speculated she might have entered a “blue Dodge Ram pickup truck from the early 2000s.”
As the investigation into Shayln’s disappearance unfolded, police secured a search warrant for a property in Big Chimney. During a press briefing on Friday, covered by the local CBS station WOWK, Kanawha County Chief Deputy Sean Snuffer disclosed that this was the residence Shayln shared with her mother and Truman.
The sheriff’s office has confirmed the completion of an autopsy on Shayln’s body, though the cause of death has not yet been made public. Her death is currently being treated as a homicide.
According to digital court records, the charges of incest and sexual abuse against Truman are linked to an alleged incident that occurred around April 15.
Truman remains in custody at the Kanawha County Jail, where he is being held on $100,000 cash bond. He has not been charged in connection with his stepdaughter’s death. His case has been bound over to the Kanawha County Circuit Court as of Monday. His next court date was not immediately available.
