Martinsburg man gets life in woman's slaying

Fred Dwayne Douty II would be eligible for parole after 15 years

September 16, 2008|By DAVE McMILLION

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Apart from a judge's last words, little was said Monday about the slaying of Tina Marie Starcher as the first man convicted in the case was sentenced.

No family members of Starcher were in the courtroom as Fred Dwayne Douty II, 29, was sentenced, and Douty made no comment as Berkeley County Circuit Judge David Sanders sentenced him to life in prison with the chance of parole after 15 years.

Douty's sentence was the result of a plea in which the Martinsburg man pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and agreed to testify against co-defendant Anthony Charles Juntilla.

Douty could be eligible for parole after serving 15 years in prison, and other charges against him -- including sexual assault, conspiracy to commit sexual assault and conspiracy to commit murder -- were dropped, Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela Games-Neely has said.

If Douty had been convicted of first-degree murder by a jury, he could have faced life in prison without a chance for parole, Games-Neely said.

West Virginia State Police found Starcher's decomposed body June 20, 2007, between Dam #4 Road and Rockymarsh Run, which is near Scrabble Road in northeastern Berkeley County.

Starcher, 40, of Martinsburg, allegedly was picked up by two men May 27 and taken to a home in Hedgesville where she was forced to have sex with them and was killed, according to authorities.

Starcher's throat was slit, and cleaning fluid was put in her mouth and on her pelvic area, according to charging documents.

Games-Neely said the cleaning liquid was used in an attempt to hide DNA evidence, and Starcher's body was put in a blue, plastic-like tub.

The tub was put in a car and taken to Dam #4 Road, where it was kicked over into some weeds, according to Games-Neely.

During the sentencing, Sanders said Starcher's death was "particularly disturbing" and that she was treated like some one that was "used and thrown away. You have gone right to the top of offenses," Sanders told Douty.

Juntilla, 39, of 86 Tecumseh Trail in Hedgesville, was convicted Sept. 5 of first-degree murder, first-degree sexual assault and conspiracy to commit sexual assault. Juntilla was acquitted of conspiracy to commit murder.

His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 27.

Also Monday, Sanders ordered Douty and Juntilla to split the cost of Starcher's burial, which was $1,326.

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