Deceased/Not Found WV - Mary Friend, 45, & Marcus Stalnaker, 69, 1 Dec 1999 - *multiple arrests*

anyone have any more info on what illegal activities they were engaged in?

I think I've read every article I could find on these people & there was never a hint of what the illegal activities were. It was something that Mary knew about, so others probably knew too. Must've been big to kill for it.
 
I think I've read every article I could find on these people & there was never a hint of what the illegal activities were. It was something that Mary knew about, so others probably knew too. Must've been big to kill for it.

Truly an odd case.

I'm anxious to hear more - and what she knew!

And I have to say that there are probably young people who will just now read about this case and be impressed that a grandma and her daughter had been documenting stuff in a 'tablet' never even thinking about the fact that in '99 it wouldn't be referring to an ipad/etc. but a paper one! :floorlaugh:

Murder, for any reason is so senseless, but I have to say, the cases where it ends up being a family member just make me feel even more sick. And that a boss managed to convince one (and another co-worker) to kill two family members just makes me sick! I wonder if he told them that they had info on him? It sort of seems like it'd be one thing if it was the son/grandson's idea, but since it apparently wasn't, it really makes me curious what convinced him to play a part in this.
 
http://www.wboy.com/story/26043927/...in-1999-disappearance-of-2-lewis-county-women

Two men have been indicted by a Lewis County grand jury on murder charges.

Charles Steven Freeman, 51, of Archbold, Ohio, was re-arrested Wednesday on murder charges and Joseph Metz, of Weston, was re-arrested on the charge in January 2014 in connection to the 1999 disappearance of Mary Friend, 46 and Maxine Stalnaker, 69...

Freeman and Metz are scheduled to be arraigned in Lewis County at 9 a.m. Friday.
 
"Defense lawyers in Lewis missing women case seek evidence sharing oversight"

http://www.theet.com/news/local/defense-lawyers-in-lewis-missing-women-case-seek-evidence-sharing/article_097e0dab-47de-5f13-9dd6-508244a9dafd.html


Buckhannon attorney Dennis Willett indicated to the court Friday that every time he and colleague Steve Nanners believe they’ve seen the last of the state’s evidence, something else investigated in the past turns up.

They don’t blame the special prosecutor in the case, Laura Pickens. In fact, Willett praised her for working well with the defense since she was appointed to the case late last year. In that vein, Pickens, surely seeking to avoid a future remand on appeal, sent a letter to law enforcement seeking assistance in making sure all the evidence has been turned over to the defense.


"Trial for 1 defendant in Lewis County cold case put on hold; Other defendant considering continuance, too"

http://www.theet.com/news/local/trial-for-defendant-in-lewis-county-cold-case-put-on/article_77178a8d-ee91-5fb0-a1c2-b5566455103b.html

One of the defendants in a 15 1/2-year-old missing persons case has agreed to have his murder trial continued until August, while the lawyers for a second defendant are mulling a postponement.

Edward Metz will go to trial the week of August 24th.

More Delays in 1999 Cold Case Murder
 
"1999 mystery of Lewis missing women now back to cold case"

-Judge grants state's request to dismiss charges against 2 defendants

http://www.theet.com/news/local/mystery-of-lewis-missing-women-now-back-to-cold-case/article_3c7e7773-3132-554b-ba57-eb221ab94b97.html

On Thursday, Special Prosecutor Laura Pickens said she and her colleagues in the Harrison County Prosecutor’s Office — who started working on the case in January — have found Hughes “lacks any credibility.”

She filed a motion on Wednesday noting the multiple times Hughes allegedly has changed his version of events in relation to the missing women, which included his latest statement that he really knew nothing at all about the matter.

Those comments came on June 2, as Hughes told Pickens and three other Harrison prosecutors that he only gave a statement implicating himself, Freeman and Metz because he felt threatened by law enforcement, and he thought that’s what they’d wanted to hear, Pickens said.
 
It is 20-year-anniversary since 69-year-old mother Maxine Stalnaker & her 45-year-old daughter Mary Friend both simply vanished

82426268_2576740799271454_5526311033666273280_n.png


It was just over two decades ago, on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 1999, that 45-year-old Mary Friend and her mother, 69-year-old Maxine Stalnaker, were last seen or heard from. December marked the 20-year anniversary of their disappearance. Authorities still welcome any tips that might lead to new information in the case.
---
In September 2013, Friend’s son, Joseph Edward Metz, and two other men, David Martin Hughes and Charles Steven “Steve” Freeman, were charged with robbery, kidnapping and first-degree murder in the two women’s cases.

The charges were dismissed in November for lack of evidence. However, in December 2013, Hughes was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery in Stalnaker and Friend’s cases, and later, Freeman and Metz were charged again with two counts of first-degree murder.

Hughes pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the prosecution, but his story repeatedly changed: He implicated only Metz, then said both Freeman and Metz were involved in the murders. Then he claimed he didn’t know who had been involved and said he had been coerced into making his previous statements.

In August 2015, the charges against Freeman and Metz were dropped again after the prosecutor admitted Hughes was not a credible witness. The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning the suspects could be charged with murder a third time if more evidence comes to light.

Mary Friend’s and Stalnaker’s bodies have never been found, but foul play is suspected in their cases due to the circumstances involved.

20-year-anniversary of two missing LC women; still considered to be a cold case
 
  • mary_geneva_friend_1.jpg
  • mary_geneva_friend_2.jpg
  • mary_geneva_friend_6.jpg
  • mary_geneva_friend_7.jpg
  • mary_geneva_friend_8.jpg
Mary, circa 1999; Joseph Metz; David Hughes; Steve Freeman

<<Investigators searched Stonewall Jackson Lake in 2002, after a fisherman found a purse belonging to one of the missing women. Identification for both Mary and Maxine was inside the purse. They searched the lake a second time in 2007, but found nothing of interest.

It should be noted that Metz lived near Stonewall Lake and the Friends' former home where the border collie was found, and the animal used to belong to him>>
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
180
Guests online
2,209
Total visitors
2,389

Forum statistics

Threads
589,946
Messages
17,928,025
Members
228,009
Latest member
chrsrb10
Back
Top