Background: News footage of Virginia Smith in court on Dec. 2 (WOWK). Inset: Cheyenne Johnson (Facebook).
A West Virginia woman who told police her boyfriend dumped the body of another woman down a well was sentenced for her role in the grisly crime.
Virginia Smith, 33, was sentenced to life with mercy on Tuesday, four years after the murder of 35-year-old Cheyenne Johnson. She pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body, and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony in February 2023. Before she was sentenced, she testified against her former boyfriend, 46-year-old Michael Smith (no relation), during his trial, which resulted in a conviction for second-degree murder on Oct. 30.
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Local CBS affiliate WOWK reported that Virginia Smith told the court that Michael Smith ordered her to shoot Johnson with a rifle on April 29, 2021. As Law&Crime previously reported, Michael Smith admitted to police that he killed Johnson after he had a verbal altercation with her. Michael Smith accused Johnson of stealing Virginia Smith's car. When Johnson returned with the vehicle, the two women engaged in a physical fight and Johnson produced a knife.
Michael Smith said that Johnson would not leave Virginia Smith alone, so he got a rifle from his car and threatened Johnson with it before shooting her in the head.
During her testimony at Michael Smith's trial, Virginia Smith told the court that he ordered her to shoot Johnson. Prosecutors stated that a juvenile witness told members of law enforcement that they saw Virginia Smith shoot Johnson.
After Johnson was shot, Michael Smith disposed of her body in a deep water well on Virginia Smith's property using a belt and ratchet straps. Johnson's body was found days later, after she was reported missing. She was found after a tipster alerted police to what Michael Smith had done. That tipster was eventually identified as Virginia Smith.
Virginia Smith told the court during her testimony that she had a serious drug problem at the time of the crime, something Michael Smith's defense attorney attempted to use to discredit her story.
Virginia Smith was also sentenced to one to five years for the firearm charge, plus an additional 10 years for concealment of a body. She received credit for time served.
Michael Smith's sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Matt Naham contributed to this story.