Photo by Niamh Coomey Detectives and officers who worked on the two cases were present at Thursday morning’s press conference. From left to right: Detective Brandon Hoehn, Detective Gabe Damico, Chief Shawn Schwertfeger, Sgt. Rob Safreed and Deputy Chief Josh Sanders.

WHEELING — The Wheeling Police Department announced charges Thursday in two separate murder investigations on Wheeling Island, one in 2023 and one earlier this year.

The WPD held a press conference Thursday to announce the charges in the two cases.

Dwayne Herring, 53, of Wheeling, has been charged with one count of murder in connection with the killing of 56-year-old Kathleen J. Herring. Police were called to a home on the 400 block of South Front Street on Wheeling Island on March 21, 2025 after Herring was found dead inside.

Findings at the initial crime scene showed that foul play was suspected, and preliminary findings from the autopsy indicated a homicide.

Officers from the Albemarle County Police Department in Charlottesville, Virginia, made the arrest on April 28, 2025, on a murder warrant following a joint investigation by them and the WPD.

Herring is being held in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail and will be extradited back to West Virginia later this month.

Schwertfeger noted that he previously served at the Albemarle County Police Department before his time with WPD and thanked the Albemarle officers who aided in the investigation.

“Regarding this investigation I want to personally thank Detective Mark Belew and Detective Andrew Holmes. Both of these dedicated public servants dropped everything they were doing to assist the Wheeling Police Department and their efforts have made justice for Kathleen Herring a step closer,” Schwertfeger said.

The WPD also announced charges against Dennis Terrell Evans, 37, from Fairmont, in connection with the death of 49-year-old Christine Lynn King. Police were called to the Fink Street area on Wheeling Island on July 28, 2023, for a woman who was found unconscious in a yard.

King was treated for her injuries at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown and transferred to Wheeling hospital. She later died there from her injuries on Oct. 20, 2023.

The West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Officer conducted an autopsy of King and ruled the death a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma.

Following an investigation, WPD officers charged Evans on May 1, 2025. Evans has been incarcerated since September 2023 for an unrelated felony — strangulation. He is serving a three-year sentence at Saint Mary’s Correctional Center and Jail in Pleasants County.

“Both of these cases, although not related, involved multiple facets of major police criminal investigations,” WPD Chief Shawn Schwertfeger said.

Investigators used many strategies from fingerprint analysis, surveillance and forensic DNA analysis to their new cellebrite technology, which is used to track and access cell phone usage data.

“Professional law enforcement agencies rely on one another and when major cases present themselves, we band together for justice and to get the job done,” Schwertfeger said. “I remain absolutely amazed and proud of the officers and detectives of the Wheeling Police Department.”

Schwertfeger also thanked the families of the victims for their support and cooperation with the investigations. One family had members present at the press conference Thursday.

Homicides are rare in Wheeling, Schwertfeger noted, with typically only one to two occurring a year.