Donovan Nicholson, 22, of Belington, West Virginia, was found fatally shot in the head near the Elkins Depot Welcome Center and Town Square in downtown Elkins in the predawn hours of April 21, 2015. Officers discovered a .25-caliber cartridge beside his body; earlier that night officers had found .25-caliber ammunition on Derrick William Adamson during a search after several disturbing incidents around downtown Elkins.

Those incidents began late on April 20 and included a threatening encounter in which Adamson told Davis & Elkins College student and employee Richard Foresi that he would have shot him if he had not believed his explanation. Adamson later produced a small pistol and attempted to shoot Timothy Summerfield, who reported hearing a shot and that the weapon had jammed. Officers searched Adamson that night but did not find a firearm; he was later identified on surveillance footage driving a reported stolen gold Ford 500 and was taken into custody the morning after Nicholson’s body was found.

At trial the defense did not dispute that Adamson had shot Nicholson, arguing diminished capacity; the jury found Adamson guilty of first-degree murder, grand larceny and possession of a stolen vehicle, and recommended no mercy on the murder count. Does anyone have additional information about Donovan’s movements that night or about witnesses who were nearby downtown Elkins?