VA VA - Wendy Beadles Francis, 35, Brookneal, 2 June 2012 *J. Wright guilty*

[OkieGranny]

Mother of missing Campbell Co. woman looks for closure two years after her disappearance

It was June 2, 2012. Wendy Beadles Francis, 35, checked in with her mom just like she always did to tell her she was fishing at a boat ramp in Brookneal.

Snead said her daughter was very trusting and it was a trait that had her daughter hanging out with the wrong crowd...

"When you have that first gut feeling that's the one you go with,” said Snead. ”My gut feeling is someone has harmed her."

Article from 2012:

http://www.sovanow.com/index.php?/news/article/fear_of_foul_play_grows_in_disappearance/

“We have no concrete evidence to lead us to believe there may have been foul play,” said Clark, “but neither do we have any evidence that there hasn’t been. I just don’t know what to think.”

Tracking down her acquaintances and retracing her possible moves, investigators learned that Francis has friends in Brookneal and may have stayed there a few days. However, those same friends have been unable to shed any light on Francis’ disappearance. One of her friends whom she often spoke with daily hasn’t heard from her, either, said Clark.

Article from last year:

http://www.wset.com/story/20995481/father-hopes-new-clues-can-help-officials-find-missing-daughter

Now Kenneth Beadles waits with Wendy's mother in a gas station parking lot in Halifax County. He says they're there to meet an investigator to have their cheeks swabbed for DNA.

That testing comes just one day after authorities searched a home on Phelps Creek Road in Brookneal. They brought in a dive team to look in a nearby pond and dogs to sniff around the 20 wooded acres next door...

Campbell County investigators say they did in fact collect evidence in this case. Right now, they're waiting to hear from the crime lab. They won't say what was found, and the search warrant that says what they came here looking for is sealed.

So whatever became of that evidence?

FB missing page: https://www.facebook.com/HelpFindWendyDawnBeadlesFrancis

 

[carterkatt]

Thank you for starting this thread! I just read about her today. I don't live too far away from this area, and I've never heard of this case!

 

[beachlvr0810]

Thank you for starting this thread! I just read about her today. I don't live too far away from this area, and I've never heard of this case!

Right there with you, carterkatt! As close as we both live to this area, I'm surprised we hadn't heard of it before. Breaks my heart!

 

[OkieGranny]

I don't live anywhere near there, but have seen her name before. The only mentions of her on WS were as a possible ID of UIDs and I thought she deserved her own thread.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/a-c...s-case-has-turned-into-a-murder-case/26950344

A missing persons case has turned into a murder case in Campbell County.

WDBJ 7 learned Monday that a grand jury indicted Jeffrey Wright on murder charges in connection to the disappearance of Wendy Beadles Francis...

No word yet on Wright’s next court date.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.newsadvance.com/news/loc...cle_cee47e20-0b9e-11e4-8f97-001a4bcf6878.html

Jeffrey Morgan Wright, 52, had a “brief relationship” with Francis about the time she disappeared, said Maj. L.T. Guthrie, of the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office. He faces charges of murder and illegally disposing of a body.

“We’re thankful we could gather enough evidence to make an arrest,” Guthrie said. “Certainly, we’re still saddened by the fact that this happened and we haven’t located Miss Francis for her family”...

Guthrie declined to provide specifics about that evidence, describing it only as “biological evidence.” He also declined to say where the evidence was found, but said Wright’s residence has been searched by investigators in this case.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.wset.com/story/26015867/...-years-after-halifax-county-woman-disappeared

Wright's home and property in Brookneal have been searched several times in this case and back in December, a woman had to be flown to the hospital after a domestic disturbance at Wright's home.

That woman was unresponsive, but crews were able to revive her.

Wright is already in jail on a malicious wounding charge for that incident.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/par...oman-want-justice-for-their-daughter/26987300

Just 48 hours after the indictments were handed down, Francis’ family held a press conference in South Boston to speak about the charges and the man investigators believe killed their daughter...

"I don't want to see him dying in there,” said Kenneth. “I just want him to stay in the pen and think about it every day like I do."

Wendy’s mother, Gayle Snead, said she feels safer knowing Wright is in jail, but she said she is not giving up the fight for her daughter just yet. "We need her body,” said Snead.

 

[mikkismom]

Campbell murder suspect found guilty in separate wounding case

http://www.newsadvance.com/news/loc...cle_0181c77c-1809-11e4-be90-001a4bcf6878.html

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.newsadvance.com/news/loc...cle_0181c77c-1809-11e4-be90-001a4bcf6878.html

Emergency responders recounted how they found a woman — whom the prosecution identified as Priscilla Smith — lying on the kitchen floor in Wright’s home, her head in a dark pool of blood. Willse said Wright and Smith had been dating at the time...

Mason told the court one of the friends performed CPR on Smith, while Wright hovered nearby. “Jeffrey Wright is sitting at the breakfast bar drinking a beer while someone is dying in front of him,” Willse said in her closing argument...

Smith’s mother testified her daughter received about 90 stitches from her injuries.

 

[ssnva1]

I have never heard of this either!! Glad they have made arrest. Hope they find her soon so the family can have closure.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.wset.com/story/27342746/authorities-search-for-body-of-missing-woman

Authorities in Campbell County have confirmed that they are actively searching an area on Swinging Bridge Road for the body of Wendy Francis.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.wset.com/story/27357368/...-francis-in-campbell-county-yields-no-results

Monday crews searched along Swinging Bridge Road in the Falling River area. Tuesday crews were combing areas more removed from the road on terrain that Sheriff Hutcherson says is very difficult to navigate. They had less people out Tuesday, about half of the 30 searching Monday. Hutcherson says both days they've had dive crews sifting through the Falling River, the area they're focusing the most.

Hutcherson says the latest information they've received has led them to that location, and that this is the first real lead they've had in the case.

 

[luckyseven]

Man gets 26 years in prison for murder in case of missing Campbell Co. woman
03:49 PM EDT Apr 07, 2015

The man accused in the disappearance of Wendy Beadles Francis entered a plea agreement Tuesday in Campbell County court to charges of second-degree murder and concealing a body.

Jeffery Wright was sentenced to serve 26 years in prison on the murder charge. Wright also received five years for concealing a body, but that sentence was suspended.

Investigators have not found Francis’ body. The 35-year-old went missing from Campbell County in June 2012. The Campbell County Sheriff's Office says it will continue looking for Francis' body.