Jonathan Dwayne Janey, a 32-year-old deputy with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, was killed during an arson investigation in Putnam County, West Virginia, on August 17, 1989. Although off duty that night, Janey was working for Nationwide Insurance after a tip that a Cow Creek Road residence might be deliberately burned. He observed Robert M. Gray entering the house carrying containers and pouring gasoline, radioed for help, and moved to apprehend Gray. A chase and struggle followed; Gray shot Janey three times at close range, twice in the chest and once in the head, and fled. Deputies captured Gray about six miles away later that morning. Gray confessed while being transported and was later indicted, tried, and in 1990 convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life with mercy.

The shooting was linked to an insurance-arson plot in which homeowner Raymond Huck had hired Gray to burn the house. Gray appealed his conviction and challenged the confession and jury selection; the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction in 1992. Janey, who had served nine years with the sheriff’s office and was survived by his parents, siblings, nieces and a nephew, has been memorialized locally, including a bridge named in his honor. Does anyone have additional details about Janey’s work that night or memories of the Cow Creek Road investigation?