Background: News footage near the scene in Big Chimney, W.Va., where the remains of Shayln Harvey were found on May 15 (WOWK). Insets (left to right): Shayln Harvey and James Truman (Kanawha County Sheriff's Office).
A West Virginia man was accused of abusing his missing teenage stepdaughter two weeks before her remains were found at the home where the family lived.
James Truman, 52, was arrested on May 8, days after his stepdaughter, 16-year-old Shayln Harvey, was reported missing. On Monday, the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office confirmed that human remains found on the property of a home in Big Chimney, West Virginia, on Friday belonged to Shayln. Truman, who has not been charged in connection with Shayln's death, is in custody on charges of incest and sexual abuse by parent, guardian, custodian or other person in position of trust to a child.
According to the sheriff's office, Shayln was reported missing on May 4, two days after she was last seen in the same area where her body was found. Police said at the time that she may have gotten into a "blue Dodge Ram pickup truck from the early 2000s."
Police said that as their investigation into Shayln's whereabouts progressed, they obtained a search warrant for a residence in the Big Chimney area. During a press conference on Friday that was covered by local CBS affiliate WOWK, Kanawha County Chief Deputy Sean Snuffer said the residence was where Shayln lived with her mother and Truman.
The sheriff's office said that an autopsy was completed on Shayln's body, but it is not releasing a cause of death yet. It is investigating Shayln's death as a homicide.
According to online court records, Truman's incest and sex abuse charges stem from an incident that allegedly occurred on or about April 15.
Truman remains in custody at the Kanawha County Jail, where he is being held on $100,000 cash bond. He has not been charged in connection with his stepdaughter's death. His case has been bound over to the Kanawha County Circuit Court as of Monday. His next court date was not immediately available.