James Clifton Bailey, 41, was found dead inside his Morgan Ridge Road home in Walker, West Virginia, after firefighters responded to a house fire on May 19, 2024. Fire crews discovered Bailey and Felicia Jean Goff deceased; investigators determined both had been killed before the residence was set ablaze. Authorities concluded the victims suffered gunshot wounds and that the fire was intentionally started, treated as an effort to conceal the deaths.

Investigators developed information pointing to Bradley Joseph Cantwell of Walker, an acquaintance who sometimes stayed with the couple. Court filings said there had been conflict shortly before the killings, including accusations that Cantwell had stolen from Bailey and Goff and had been told to leave. Cantwell was later charged in connection with the deaths; prosecutors alleged witness accounts and physical evidence placed him at the scene, and a firearm believed to be the murder weapon was reportedly found hidden nearby. Cantwell entered a Kennedy/Alford plea in April 2026 to two counts of second-degree murder, with sentencing set for July 6, 2026.

Does anyone have additional information about Bailey, his life in Walker, or the days leading up to May 19, 2024?