Background: Logan Willis signs a document while under police supervision after being arrested for attempted murder (WSAZ/YouTube). Inset: Logan Willis (West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility).
A man in West Virginia will spend decades behind bars after admitting to severely beating his estranged girlfriend during a custody exchange of their young child.
Logan Willis, 22, was charged with attempted murder and malicious assault, as Law&Crime previously reported.
This week, he was sentenced to a total of 36 years in prison after pleading guilty to the charges, as well as domestic battery, WV MetroNews reported, with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department sharing the same news.
On June 9, 2025, Willis and his estranged girlfriend had planned to meet and exchange custody of their young child, Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger said. The rural county lies in the western part of the state.
The victim reportedly got into Willis' car, with plans to go to a nearby Walmart and buy things the child would need for that weekend. Mellinger, however, stated his belief that Willis had no intention of doing this. Instead, he claimed, Willis had violent intentions.
Willis reportedly drove to a remote area of the county, beat the girlfriend in his car, and dragged her into the woods. Then, he drove away.
"He left her thinking he had murdered her," the sheriff said at the time. "It appeared to be all hands on. She was beaten so badly she lost consciousness and in his own words he beat her until she quit breathing. Then he dragged her up into the woods to hide the body."
Willis apparently headed to a gas station where he called 911 and reported that he thought he had killed his girlfriend, per deputies speaking with WV MetroNews. Their child was with him at the time.
But the victim was not dead.
The woman was "observed to have numerous serious injuries consistent with a life-altering beating," according to a criminal complaint obtained by Huntington-based NBC affiliate WSAZ. Deputies found her by following a trail of blood.
The girlfriend was in the late stages of pregnancy at the time she was found. It was not immediately clear whether her unborn child survived.
Law&Crime reached out to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department for more information.
The victim gave an impact statement this week before Willis was sentenced, regional CBS affiliate WKRC reported.