WVOW News
CHARLESTON The WV Supreme Court reversed a Wyoming County murder conviction.
The state’s highest court sent the case back to the county for a new trial.
The opinion handed down Thursday, asserted now retired Wyoming County Circuit Judge Warren McGraw should not have allowed evidence from a separate murder conviction for defendant Oscar Combs Sr.
Combs was convicted on first degree murder in 2017 for the death of Teresa Lynn Ford whose remains were discovered near Combs’ residence in Bud, West Virginia. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole.
The Supreme Court opinion states McGraw’s decision to allow evidence of a precious Combs’ conviction in 2015 violated the state’s rules of admission of prior bad acts in trials. Combs was previously convicted in Mercer County for the death of James “Bo” Butler.
The decision grants Combs a new trial in Wyoming County.
He is currently serving a life sentence for the Mercer County conviction.