Marcus Alva Fagons, 26, of Moatsville, West Virginia, was found on August 15, 2019, with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. The lead-up to the death is described as a volatile, abusive relationship with his wife, Carli R. Reed. In the days before the shooting Reed had tried to leave after discovering multiple infidelities; Fagons allegedly forced her to bring her belongings back and threatened severe violence, invoking a story about his father burning a man alive and shooting anyone who tried to escape.

On the day of the incident Fagons called Reed repeatedly while she was at work and later became aggressive when she returned home. Witnesses present earlier that day included their daughter and a Department of Health and Human Resources worker; after the worker and child left, Reed reports being beaten and raped by Fagons. When Reed returned to the bedroom later she found Fagons silent and bleeding profusely and sought help from her nearby mother. State troopers arrived about 5:53 p.m.

Reed was arrested August 15, 2019, charged with murder, held in the Central Regional Jail, and later indicted by a Barbour County grand jury on June 15, 2020. At trial the jury convicted her of second-degree murder on September 24, 2020, after the defense sought instructions emphasizing the history of abuse. Did anyone in the Moatsville community see signs of the abuse or the couple’s conflicts before August 15, 2019?