WASHINGTON COUNTY, Va. —
Police say a traveling carnival worker has admitted to killing three women in an 18-day killing spree across Virginia.
WJHL reports James Michael Wright, 23, is charged with three counts of capital murder, three counts of using a firearm in committing a murder and three counts of concealment of a dead body.
Sick O
Wright reportedly confessed to killing three women he met through his job at James H. Drew Exposition, a carnival traveling up and down the East Coast. All three women had been reported missing between the dates of Feb. 28, 2019, and March 17, 2019.
ABC News reports that investigators in Tennessee contacted authorities in Washington County, Virginia, about two weeks ago in regard to setting up an interview with Wright, who they had identified as a suspect in the search for missing woman Athina Hopson, 25.
As police executed a search warrant on Wright's truck, they discovered Hopson's cell phone. Hopson's father had reached out to Wright on Facebook.
“Have u seen athina,” he wrote, according to the Washington Post. “She is missing . . . people say she was with u . . . this is her dad."
As he was being interviewed by detectives from Tennessee, Wright allegedly confessed to killing Hopson along with two other victims.
Elizabeth Marie Vanmeter, 22, was reported missing from her Tennessee home on March 17. Wright allegedly told officers he shot and killed her on Feb. 28 after an argument.
Joslyn M. Alsup, 17, was reported missing on March 8. Wright allegedly confessed to killing her the next day.
Hopson was reported missing by her mother on March 21. Wright allegedly told investigators he shot and killed her on March 17 before dumping her body in a river.
Investigators have found what they believe to be the remains of Alsup and Vanmeter, while Hopson's remains have not been located.
Washington County, Virginia Sheriff Fred Newman said Wright told authorities all three killings were accidental.
"Although he stated they were accidental, we find that hard to believe based on the information that we have," Newman said.
In the deaths of Alsup and Hopson, Wright gave some series of events supporting his claim that the killings were accidental. Wright claimed that he accidentally shot Alsup while trying to shoot an animal in the woods. Wright allegedly claimed he shot Hopson in the head, twice, on accident. He explained they were going for a walk, and that he tripped and shot her in the head, then tripped again and accidentally shot her again.
Newman said all three killings happened in an 18-day period in Washington County, Virginia. Newman told the
Rome News-Tribune it would be appropriate to refer to Wright as a “serial killer.”
Washington County Commonwealth Attorney Joshua Cumbow said it is possible his office will seek the death penalty. He is being held in the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail.
Hopson’s mother, Bonnie Griffith, told
WJHL her daughter had been struggling financially and had been cleaning Wright's house for money after meeting him through the carnival.
"Why? What was going through this man's head," Griffith said. "Why would he do this to these girls that are innocent and probably trusted him?"
Officials said they are working with the carnival company to trace its route.
“We’re working with that carnival to make a determination of the locations they did set up the carnival and attempt to see if there are missing persons that might have been reported,” Newman said.
.jpg)