WVirginia teen to be tried as adult in killing of his family

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia teen accused of killing four family members will be tried as an adult. The ruling involving 17-year-old Gavin Smith by Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Ballard on Tuesday means he could get a longer sentence if convicted of first-degree murder. Smith was 16 and his girlfriend was 17 when they were arrested in the December 2020 killings of his mother, stepfather and two younger brothers at their home in Elkview. Rebecca Lynn Walker pleaded guilty to helping him hide after the slayings and was sentenced as an adult to 10 years in prison.