A West Virginia teenager on Monday waived her preliminary hearing on charges stemming from the beating death of an elderly pastor last month.
The suspect, Camille Browne, 19, of Beckley, has been charged with first-degree murder and with breaking and entering in connection with the Feb. 9 death of Ronald Browning, 69.
Police have said Browning, the pastor of the Cool Ridge Community Church, died at his home of blunt force trauma to his head and neck.
Browne waived the preliminary hearing before Raleigh County Magistrate Charles Humphrey.
Browne’s lawyer, Jesse Forbes, told reporters the focus moving forward was to answer questions surrounding the case.
“We have a 19-year-old with no criminal history, who was a productive person and has a lot of attributes so these things will certainly need to be taken into account,” he said.
When asked of whether drugs or mental illness would play a part in the defense, Forbes said: “All doors are open at this time and we will look at every avenue out there.”
He said a mental hygiene examination would be done as the investigation continues.
Browne was found a day after the killing at a nearby residence, according to a criminal complaint. She was covered in blood, urine and feces, it said.
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