MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Monongalia County Magistrate Jim Nabors determined the state did establish probable cause in the first degree murder case against Chance Williams, 23, of Morgantown and the case will go before the grand jury. Williams is accused of stabbing Jamey Corbin, 47, of Fairmont, five times November 15 after what Corbin’s mother called a “tumultuous” relationship with Williams.
Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department Detective Jonathan Friend said uniformed deputies responded to what was reported as a crash scene at Greenbag Road and Luckey Lane. Deputies called detectives when evidence at the scene was not consistent with a traffic accident.
Friend said the car was found in the ditch along Greenbag Road just beyond the intersection with Luckey Lane. Friend said Corbin was deceased in the car with large volume of blood throughout. In the car, detectives observed a “void pattern” in the blood evidence in passenger side seat of the vehicle. A “void pattern” shows where a person may have been at the time of the incident.
At that point, a first degree murder arrest warrant was issued and detectives contacted the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force for assistance in locating Williams.
On the morning of the crime, police said the mother of Williams said he admitted to stabbing Corbin and told her his hands were hurting. While questioning his mother police says they found a knife they believe had used in the crime. The knife had been cleaned, but detectives said there were drops of blood in the screws on the handle. Police also recovered bloody clothes believed to have been worn by Williams during the murder.
The blood evidence is still being tested at the lab- no results have been confirmed.
Ten days after the murder on Nov. 25 Williams was captured by the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force not far from his mother’s home in the 1000 block of White Avenue.
Williams told investigators he spent the first three days on the run in the woods, but would not elaborate further for fear he could incriminate someone else.
Prosecutors testified that Williams acknowledged guilt by fleeing from the scene and remaining on the run for the next ten days.