MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — A Carroll County, Maryland man has admitted to his role in a multi-state violent crime spree involving kidnapping, murder, and witness tampering causing death following a lengthy investigation, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey.
Monroe Merrell, 29, of Westminster, Maryland, pled guilty today to three charges, admitting he worked with others to kidnap and murder J.R. in an apartment in Westminster, Maryland in March 2020. J.R. was severely beaten and stabbed multiple times before Merrell and others transported him across state lines into West Virginia. During J.R.’s transport Merrell stabbed him multiple times, killing him.
Merrell and others attempted to dispose of his body in the woods of a rural, isolated section of Rippon in Jefferson County by dousing him with gasoline and burning his body. The following morning, a nearby resident driving by called in a report for emergency services after seeing a body burning in the woods near the roadway, prompting a multi-state investigation involving collaboration between state and federal agencies.
In April 2020, Merrell became concerned that two witnesses to J.R.’s beating and kidnapping, D.T. and H.G., would communicate what they knew to law enforcement. Merrell and others brought the pair from Maryland to the Falling Waters area of Berkeley County, West Virginia, where they drugged and partially incapacitated them. D.T., 18, of Taneytown, Maryland, and H.G., 33, of Westminster, Maryland, were then both killed, their bodies burned, and their remains disposed of in the Potomac River.
By entering his plea of guilty, Merrell is the last defendant in the multi-defendant case to accept responsibility for the kidnapping and murders. Merrell’s acceptance of responsibility encompasses a fourth victim, E.D. (previously identified in Counts Eight and Nine of the Indictment as “Jane Doe”), who Merrell targeted in a solicitation of murder plot in his continued effort to conceal the crimes. Merrell is facing a life sentence on each of the counts to which he has pled guilty after a United States motion to re-seek the death penalty was denied in October 2025.
Three other co-defendants named in the Indictment, all Maryland residents, David Sanford, Jr.; John Black, III; and Jeffrey Smith, Jr., previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the kidnapping and murders. Additionally, April Braner, 43, of Falling Waters, West Virginia, and Norman Bradford, 55, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, also entered guilty pleas by information for their roles in the crimes. All sentencing hearings are scheduled for Jan. 25, 2027.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberley D. Crockett and Kyle R. Kane are prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police, Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Berkeley and Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorneys’ Offices investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
