By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
An 18-year old Colorado woman is in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on Felony Malicious or Unlawful Assault Charges following a domestic violence incidence in Canaan Valley May 1st. Austin Marie McClung, 18, of Colorado is currently being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on $30,000 bond.
On May 1st, according to the criminal complaint filed by Corporal Gidley of the Tucker County Sheriff’s Office, obtained by the Intermountain, he along with Lieutenant Teter and Sergeant Zirk, responded to a call to the Tucker County 911 Center about an assault near the Grant County Bank in Canaan Valley.
The alleged victim informed officers that she had been at the Breakfast Nook restaurant in Canaan Valley with McClung. After she had left for a walk, McClung was reported to have followed the female victim.
It was while outside the Grant County Bank, along WV Route 32 in Canaan, that the attack occurred. It is alleged in the complaint that McClung, after following the victim down the road, stabbed the victim’s bag with a silver serrated kitchen knife, the victim said McClung always carried. McClung then proceeded to slash the victim in the left arm, leaving a four-inch gash.
By the time law enforcement arrived on scene, McClung had returned to the Breakfast Nook, it was reported. Officer Gidley found McClung at the restaurant. McClung was reported to have said she knew the reason the officer was there for her was because of the incident at the bank.
McClung was reported to have given the reason for the attack as being mad at the victim for a statement made about a friend. The Intermountain reported that McClung was reported to have said, “I got mad at (the alleged victim) because she told my friend to kill herself.” Once confronted on the statement, McClung stabbed the duffel bag of the victim and cut her arm with the knife she had grabbed from the Breakfast Nook.
Officer Gidley was reported to have received the statement of a witness who was present when McClung left the restaurant with the knife. The witness was also reported to have stated that when the defendant returned to the restaurant following the attack, she admitted to cutting the victim on the arm.
McClung appeared before Magistrate Judge Brian K. Wilfong for a Preliminary Hearing on May 5th. A second closed hearing was held on May 8th, according to Magistrate Case Records obtained by the Parsons Advocate.
The Parsons Advocate reached out to Tucker County Sheriff Jake Kopec, but no additional information was available.
No Bond has been entered on McClung’s $30,000 cash bond. McClung remains held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail awaiting trial.
Back on March 24th, McClung was reported missing to the Tucker County Sheriff’s Office. She was last seen in that incident at 10 a.m. in Thomas and was later reported found at around 9 p.m. that night, according to local news reports. Detective Chris Teter was in charge of the missing person investigation.