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Sgt. Jeff Cooper of the Grantsville Detachment of the State Police told the Charleston Daily Mail a 16-year-old juvenile has
been charged with being an accessory to murder, before and after the fact.
Two arrests were made yesterday in the grisly murders, reportedly caused by shotgun blasts, of Ward Groves, 69, and
Mary Hicks, 60. They were found dead in Groves' home early Thursday morning.
Cooper said the juvenile could be charged with murder, as the investigation continues. He is being held in a Parkersburg
correctional facility.
The 16-year-old has been identified as Ronnie Rush, a former student at Calhoun Middle/High School.
Rush told police he was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom of the Groves' house the night of the killings. According to the police
complaint, Rush said he was forced at knife-point by Bobby Ray Shamblin to watch Shamblin shoot the man and woman in
their bed.
The police complaint indicates Rush left the Groves house in a vehicle with Bobby Ray Shamblin, and "threw the two
shotguns in the river."
The youth then went to nearby house of his father Paul Rush on Little Bear Fork, were the call was made to 911.
The Charleston Daily Mail reported:
"More arrests are possible, Cooper said. He also said the juvenile, who was placed at a correctional facility in Parkersburg,
could be charged with murder pending the outcome of the investigation."
"Several firearms were found at the home, located just off U.S. 33-119, and scattered around the grounds, Cooper said. It
hasn't been determined which, if any, of the weapons were used in the killings, but Cooper said they have been sent to the
State Police firearms lab to be tested."
"Cooper said the motive has not been determined but some items were taken from the residence."
Bobby Ray Shamblin, 34, of the Rosesdale-Stumptown area, was charged yesterday with two counts of first-degree murder
and one count of burglary. He is being held at Central Regional Jail in Flatwoods.
Neighbors said Shamblin was a friend of Groves, and often traded and sold items with him.
Rush had reportedly been helping Groves move into his new house, and had been staying with him at times.
A neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said Groves had come into some money after the death of a brother a few
weeks ago. The neighbor said he had been purchasing a house, real estate and a vehicle with the funds.
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