GUILTY WV - Riley Crossman, 15, Martinsburg, Morgan County, 7 May 2019 *arrest*

[Sachi]

Is this Chantel Oakley’s mom?
Debra Ditto - Ballotpedia
It appears this elected position is held for 4 years per this page info and this election was held in 2016. If I have this wrong , please correct.

 

[ClaireNC]

There is also no one of that name listed on the website.

Berkeley County Court Information - West Virginia Judiciary

Wrong county - check Morgan County.

 

[JimmyPerez]

She is listed as a Magistrate here: Magistrate | Morgan County, West Virginia

And here: Morgan County Court Information - West Virginia Judiciary

The first link explains a Magistrate's jurisdiction under WV law:

Magistrates issue arrest and search warrants, hear misdemeanor cases, conduct preliminary examinations in felony cases, and hear civil cases with $5,000 or less in dispute. Magistrates also issue emergency protective orders in cases involving domestic violence. The circuit courts hear appeals of magistrate court cases.
Magistrates run for four-year terms in partisan elections. They do not have to be lawyers. Circuit judges appoint magistrates to fill vacancies. An appointee who wishes to remain in office must run in the next election.

 

[Niner]

@JimmyPerez - have you found a link to the court site to "see" when he might be in court next? I haven't been able to find one.... TIA!

 

[JohnTate90210]

SNIP

Don’t know the ages of the younger siblings.

I read they are 7 and 13.

 

[JohnTate90210]

It's probably already been mentioned but Dateline covered the story while it was still a missing persons case:

Family desperately searching for missing West Virginia teen Riley Crossman

So, if I have it right:

May 7, 3:30 pm - Riley woke her mother, Chantel, for work.

May 7, 7:00 pm - Riley's grandmother left Riley's home.

May 7, 10:00 pm - Chantel arrived home from work. Saw Riley's bedroom light on but didn't see her.

May 7, 10:30 pm - Riley finished video call with her boyfriend.

May 7, Midnight - Riley finished texting with a friend.

May 8, 5:40 am - Riley tried to video call her boyfriend but he was asleep.

May 8, 7:15 am - Chantel woke up and saw that Riley was gone but thought she'd already left for school which was across the street. (EDIT: Story said "across the street" but it appears she lived on Greenway which is about a quarter-mile away.)

May 8, 7:45 am - Riley's school started classes.

May 8, 3:30 pm - Chantel messaged Riley asking where she was because her grandmother had said she hadn't come home from school. Message didn't deliver. She then called and it went to voicemail. Second text went undelivered.

May 8, 3:40 pm (approximate) - Chantel asked her mother to go to school and look for Riley. Riley wasn't there.

May 8, 5:00 pm - Chantel left work and drove to school to look for Riley. Riley's boyfriend was in parking lot. He'd just returned from a school field trip. He hadn't talked to her all day. School then called Chantel and reported Riley had been absent that day. Chantel they called 911 and Riley's father, Lance Crossman, whole lived 25 minutes away.

 

[JohnTate90210]

It would seem like a safe assumption that it was actually Riley trying to video chat with her boyfriend at 5:40 am. It would be stupid for somebody else to try it plus her phone possibly had a password on it (if she was anything like my teen).

She last texted a friend around midnight so that put her with less than six hours of sleep. And it gave her about 95 minutes to get ready and leave the house for school which was just across the street (EDIT: Story says across the street but it was actually up the road a bit. Maybe a quarter mile.). Seems a bit excessive to me. I'd tend to guess something was going on in the house and that's why she was up early and trying to reach her boyfriend.

 

[Vern]

This is why I can never get divorced ... the idea of dating again would be terrifying! Can't trust anyone!

This poor mother - the guilt and shame she must be feeling is unimaginable. You bring someone into your home that you love and trust and they destroy your whole world.

There are millions of loving, caring step-dads and boyfriends out there who do not murder, abuse, harm their step-kids or girlfriends' kids. A very few do.

There are millions of loving, caring step-moms and girlfriends out there who do not murder, abuse, harm their step-kids or boyfriends' kids. A very few do.

There are millions of loving, caring dads out there who do not murder, abuse, harm their kids. A very few do.

There are millions of loving, caring moms out there who do not murder, abuse, harm their kids. A very few do.

Just facts.

No one would ever marry or have any kids if one never trusted anybody.

 

[flashy09]

There are millions of loving, caring step-dads and boyfriends out there who do not murder, abuse, harm their step-kids or girlfriends' kids. A very few do.

There are millions of loving, caring step-moms and girlfriends out there who do not murder, abuse, harm their step-kids or boyfriends' kids. A very few do.

There are millions of loving, caring dads out there who do not murder, abuse, harm their kids. A very few do.

There are millions of loving, caring moms out there who do not murder, abuse, harm their kids. A very few do.

Just facts.

No one would ever marry or have any kids if one never trusted anybody.

Agreed, but if you are the mother of 3 children it is your responsibility to keep them safe. Allowing a drug addicted criminal to be unsupervised in your house is not keeping them safe. Most boyfriend/stepfathers are not going to murder your child, but the odds go up with drugs, a criminal record, and a face that gives normal people the creeps to look at. It wasn't a stretch to figure out he could be in the "very few" percentage. She must have been into drugs as well. Nobody sober wants to be around a partner injecting coke. I guess that impaired her judgement.

 

[johnbelt]

Grandmother is indeed a magistrate in Morgan County.Berkeley Springs is the county seat of Morgan County and not part of Berkeley County.Quite confusing.I am assuming Debbie Ditto or husband would not be sleuthable by WS standards.

 

[Vern]

Her name is Debra Ditto. Chantel Oakley is her daughter. This county is famous for shady dealings within the local government. Don't hold your breath on the mother being charged.

IMO, where is any MSM or LE statements warranting of all this speculation (obvious speculation as to mom being involved IMO) because, right now, all I see is that Mom is a victim too.

This is becoming common-place in WS lately. It's truly sad to see.

 

[Vern]

Agreed, but if you are the mother of 3 children it is your responsibility to keep them safe. Allowing a drug addicted criminal to be unsupervised in your house is not keeping them safe. Most boyfriend/stepfathers are not going to murder your child, but the odds go up with drugs, a criminal record, and a face that gives normal people the creeps to look at. It wasn't a stretch to figure out he could be in the "very few" percentage. She must have been into drugs as well. Nobody sober wants to be around a partner injecting coke. I guess that impaired her judgement.

Wow. In order to become a mother of three children, you had to trust at least one man. See how that works? Whole lot of women and mothers themselves killing their kids out there too. We don't blame all Mom's for the one that does kill her kids. We shouldn't be blaming all step-dads or boyfriends either when one kills a kid. People kill people - blame them. Blame Mom too? Then blame an apparent entire community who has failed to clean up the drug problem you allude to in their back yard as they apparently must have missed the sign too and so they get to shoulder blame upon themselves as well IMO.

Lots of victim blaming the Mom here IMO.

 

[johnbelt]

IMO, where is any MSM or LE statements warranting of all this speculation (obvious speculation as to mom being involved IMO) because, right now, all I see is that Mom is a victim too.

This is becoming common-place in WS lately. It's truly sad to see.

I don't see it as victim shaming the guy has an 89 page rap sheet and if the mother did not even do a little bit of snooping around before allowing him to move in she should be shamed.There is a dead girl who would not have even known this monster if not for mom.WS has restrictive policies to detriment sometimes like in this case the killer was well known before WS board had mention of BF.

 

[Rosiebones]

I wasn't reading this so much as considering the mother as being actively involved with whatever happened but more as how mother and grandmother could not know he was under the influence at any time, but particularly that evening and then put his sorry self out on the curb so to speak.

 

[johnbelt]

Grandmother's husband -Robert D. Golden Jr., 47, of Winchester Grade Road, Berkeley Springs, was indicted on one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, one count of transporting a controlled substance into the state, one count of simple possession of a controlled substance, one count of failure to use a hands-free device, one count of passing in a no passing zone, one count of driving left of center and one count of failure to stop at a stop sign.

 

[Hte2w8]

A parent has a responsibility to protect their children from threats both external and internal. Maryland is one of the states that allows online access to arrest records. Granted, he lived in Berkeley Springs, WV... But he did plenty of time in Maryland, which is the closest long term correctional facility. Even if she didn't know from talking to him and others, observing his behaviors etc,., She could have (read should have) looked up any man who was going to sleep in her home, and have access to her children, in the State o MD records database. It's called due diligence and every parent has a responsibility to perform their due diligence on people they will be sharing a bed with and introducing to their children. I'm not even going to touch the yet unsubstantiated rumors about Mom's own vices. The fact he had arrests that were searchable online is enough, to ME, that she shares some of the responsibility for what happened.... I said some, not all... But that is our job as parents, to reduce the likelihood or occurrence that something bad will happen to our children. We are the filter... Clearly in this instance, she failed her daughter and herself. I won't even let unlicensed or unbonded blue or white collared workers into my home... But then again, I've been a police officer for 29 years, I've seen the danger where most don't.
This is clearly just MOO

 

[JRW]

You would think so but I'm a small town West Virginian and their is families dating backing generations that just control everything from who the QB on the High School football team is to who is allowed to live in the town.I have hope with the feds involved it maybe different.The lady was elected with a husband who is a herion dealer don't count on pressure from the locals.

I completely agree! The pull that some "elected positions" have in small towns is much different than they would be in a big city. In some small towns just having the correct last name can make a huge difference on how much pull you have in situations.

 

[JRW]

Wow. In order to become a mother of three children, you had to trust at least one man. See how that works? Whole lot of women and mothers themselves killing their kids out there too. We don't blame all Mom's for the one that does kill her kids. We shouldn't be blaming all step-dads or boyfriends either when one kills a kid. People kill people - blame them. Blame Mom too? Then blame an apparent entire community who has failed to clean up the drug problem you allude to in their back yard as they apparently must have missed the sign too and so they get to shoulder blame upon themselves as well IMO.

Lots of victim blaming the Mom here IMO.

I think alot of the blaming of the mom has to do with how she reacted to this. She was very silent ( which obviously doesnt make her guilty, but i feel this led to alot of frustration). She also was aware that her boyfriend was doing drugs.... there are rumers she was a drug addict herself. She allowed the monster who killed her daughter to live in her home. It is a situation where it is very easy to blame the mom. We don't know the whole situation yet so it is not fair, but she does not have the best reputation and I can understand why people's anger and frustration are being directed at her.

 

[Hte2w8]

You would think so but I'm a small town West Virginian and their is families dating backing generations that just control everything from who the QB on the High School football team is to who is allowed to live in the town.I have hope with the feds involved it maybe different.The lady was elected with a husband who is a herion dealer don't count on pressure from the locals.

Thankfully, a new sheriff was elected in 2016. Prior to that the MCSD was full of generations of the same family. The were a substandard LE Agency. The new sheriff KC Bohrer, has a lot of LEv experience in larger organizations, graduated from the FBI leadership program (which is not easy) and has really made a difference in MC. I speak from experience. We were a victim of a property crime pre Bohrer, and it was handled so poorly because the LE just didn't care. Since then, we have noticed a huge difference in Berkeley Springs and Great Cacapon, in MC. They are far more active now. As a result, I am hopeful there will be no nepotism or favoritism involved in this case.

ETA
I should qualify this with the information that we live part time in MC, and live and work full-time in Los Angeles, for a major metropolitan law enforcement agency, so I am not speaking without some foundation.

 

[JRW]

Those are my thoughts as well, something doesn't add up! Add in, how did the Mom's boyfriend get a ride to the place of his employment to pick up a truck, the very truck where decomp was found, per MSM. It was also said that same truck, per MSM, was backed into the driveway at 10 Am the next morning. Where was Riley's Mom then?

I agree about how did he get to work to get the work truck? Also there was the 3 am drug run that keeps being talked about... I've heard the boyfriend had a drivers liscence and I've heard that he didn't. So many conflicting "facts" surrounding this case!