A West Virginia teen has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for shooting his mother and sister in cold blood when he was only 13.
Connor Crowe, 16, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November after waiving his right to a trial in juvenile court, was ordered Tuesday to serve two consecutive 40-year sentences.
“I want you to remember that your sister was 15 when you killed her,” Hancock County Circuit Court Judge Jason Cuomo told Crowe. “She was younger than you are now, and you gave her no consideration or mitigation below her death penalty.”
“I think your sister graduated from high school, maybe a week or two ago,” the judge continued. “She will never get the chance to go to college. You didn’t give her a chance to do something about herself, and you’re asking me to do it.”
In September 2020, when Crow was 13, he photographed the chest and torso of his mother, Melissa Rowland, 39, and her sister, Madison “Flo” Rowland, 15, inside their home in Weirton, West Virginia. fired several times at
After the shooting, Crow ran outside in her pajamas and told a neighbor that she had shot an intruder in the shoulder with a gun she had in her pocket, claiming an unknown man was responsible for the massacre.
Prosecutor Steven Drazich said there was bullet remnants found in Crow and there was no evidence that anyone had forced their way into the home or fled the home.
Following the teenage boy’s guilty plea, Mr. Dragic said he would seek the fullest punishment allowed by law for each of the charges.
“The facts remain the same, but he knew what he was doing was wrong,” Dragic said Tuesday. “He had thought about it beforehand and knew it was wrong. He thought he might not do it, but he did it anyway. Any indication of sex and mitigating factors is very little compared to what happened to his state of mind.”
Crow’s lawyers cited age as one of the mitigating factors in his call for a shorter sentence, but a judge sided with the prosecution and sentenced him to 40 years in prison, two consecutive terms.
The motive for the brutal murder of mother and daughter has never been revealed, prosecutors say Tell WTOV Broadcasters Last year: “I don’t think I really understand why.”
Crowe will remain in juvenile detention until his 18th birthday, after which he will be transferred to an adult prison.
Crowe may be eligible for parole after serving just 15 years.
with post wire
