Wheeling police address pair of murder cases, highlight quick response efforts

WHEELING, W.Va. — The Wheeling Police Department held a news conference Thursday to address two recent murder cases that have gripped the community.

The first case involved the March 2023 murder of 56-year-old Kathleen J. Herring, who was found dead in her South Front Street home.

Her husband, 53-year-old Dwayne Herring, has been charged with one count of murder after investigators determined foul play was involved.

Authorities recently discovered that Dwayne Herring had fled to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he is being held in a local jail awaiting extradition to West Virginia.

Officials are proud of the quick response.

"These men standing alongside me are members of a very understaffed unit and for them to do not only death investigations, but all of the cases that they handle and doing it so well, it just speaks volumes of the characters of these men," Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger said.

The second case discussed was the murder of 49-year-old Christine Lynn King, who was found unconscious with physical injuries in a Fink Street yard in July 2023.

King later died from her injuries at Wheeling Hospital.

Dennis Terrell Evans, 37, of Fairmont -- serving an unrelated sentence at the Saint Mary's Correctional Center and Jail -- is facing charges related to her murder.

"The fact is that the case from 2023 is one we will never forget and we will never quit," Schwertfeger said. "And we continued and continued and continued on that case specifically."

Schwertfeger noted the rare nature of the cases.

"We have very few homicides. In fact, we average 1-2 annually and we did not have any last year," he said.