Chesapeake man killed, found in abandoned building

CHESAPEAKE — Two people are charged in a murder after a Chesapeake man was found dead in an abandoned building after initially reporting the man was just missing.

Russell Adkins, 37, of South Point, has been charged with first-degree murder and second-degree felony assault in the death of Larry Scott Stephenson, 54.

Stephenson’s girlfriend, Brandy Miller, 34, was charged with third-degree felony tampering with evidence and first-degree misdemeanor making a false report to a law enforcement officer. Both are housed in the Lawrence County Jail.

Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless said to have another murder in the county was disheartening.

“I think the situation just got out of control really quick,” he said. “Usually, we are fortunate to live in a sleepy community where we don’t face this on a daily basis.”

The case began on Saturday at about 1:10 a.m., when Miller called the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office to come to her and Stephenson’s house at 172 Township Rd. in Chesapeake.

She told deputies that she wanted to file a missing persons report on Stephenson. She said Stephenson had been drinking and they had gotten into an argument, so she went to bed around midnight. When she got up around 1 a.m., she couldn’t find him, so she called the sheriff’s office.

After getting the report, a search began for Stephenson. As the investigation continued, Miller’s story began to change. She told deputies that their fight had escalated and she called a co-worker, Adkins. She said, when Adkins arrived, he began to assault Stephenson inside the residence. Miller said that Stephenson was incapacitated and that she and Adkins put him in Adkins’ pickup truck and the two men left, leaving her at the residence.

Deputies said they found signs of struggle inside the residence and what appeared to be traces of blood. They obtained a search warrant and called the Ohio Bureau of Investigation and Identification to send crime scene technicians to collect and process any evidence.

A felonious assault warrant for Adkins was obtained from the Lawrence County Municipal Court

Deputies and detectives continued the search for Stephenson and Adkins throughout the afternoon and evening. Adkins was located at the South Point Taco Bell around 7:30 p.m. arrested on the warrant.

Adkins told detectives that he had assaulted Stephenson, who began to bleed and went unconscious. He said he and Miller put Stephenson in the truck and that he drove through fog to an unknown gravel road, where he found an abandoned house. He said he dragged Stephenson into the house and used a rope to bind his feet and hands together.

Adkins rode around with detectives to locate the house where he left Stephenson, but they were unable to find it because Adkins couldn’t remember its location.

Lawrence County EMS went along, in case Stephenson was located and needed medical attention.

After several hours, they still hadn’t located Stephenson. They decided to put Adkins in jail on the felonious assault charge.

Deputies, detectives, EMS and the Fayette Township Fire Department continued the search of gravel roads from County Road 120 to County Road 15. Around 12:20 a.m. on Sunday, the body of Stephenson was located in an abandoned house, just as Adkins described.

Lawrence County Coroner Kurt Hoffman was called and an autopsy has been requested.

The investigation continues and additional charges could be filed against the suspects.