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The 45-year-old Berkeley Springs resident Andy McCauley was charged with the first-degree murder of his girlfriend's daughter, Riley Crossman, a freshman at Berkeley Springs High School. Crossman's disappearance led to a state-wide manhunt with over 300 people participating.
The teen's body, however, was eventually recovered from an embankment near Tuscarora Pike on May 16, 2019, with drywall mud as evidence. The drywall mud, coupled with security footage, text messages from Riley to her boyfriend, and DNA evidence found in her room, led to the arrest of Andy McCauley in May 2019.
The Murder in the Heartland episode, titled Something Happened to Her, details the unfortunate death of Riley Crossman. The synopsis of the episode reads,
"Popular high school student Riley Crossman, age 15, disappears in 2019, igniting a statewide search in West Virginia. Investigators discover her body, and they have their hands full when the students and residents of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, become suspects."
Season 6 episode 5 of the show airs on December 13, 2023, at 9 pm EST on Investigation Discovery.
Who was Andy McCauley? Details explored
15-year-old West Virginia teen Riley Grace Crossman was reported missing on May 8, 2019, after her mother, Chantel Oakley, realized she was neither at home nor at school. Her mysterious disappearance led to a large manhunt with helicopters, multiple law enforcement agencies, and over 300 volunteers from her school and otherwise, participating in the search.
After eight days of investigation and searching, Crossman's body was found wrapped in a contractor-grade trash bag over an embankment near Tuscarora Pike in Berkeley County, according to West Virginia Metro News.
Her body was decomposed to an extent where the investigators could not determine the cause of her death. The site had construction materials left behind with the body, which eventually pointed to Andy McCauley as the potential suspect.
Riley Crossman was living with her mother, Chantel, and her boyfriend, Andy Jackson McCauley Jr. at their West Virginia home, before she went missing.
Why was Andy McCauley the main suspect?
During the investigation into Riley Crossman's disappearance, a series of texts that were sent to her boyfriend, Haydn Lacy, between May 7 and the early hours of May 8, became telling of McCauley's involvement.
Haydn was on Facetime with Riley when she texted him asking him to listen in and stated that her stepfather, Andy, had stepped into the room. Her last text to Haydn read,
"I'm scared, babe."
The next morning, officers from the Morgan County Sheriff's Office discovered blood and saliva from the pillows and comforter in her room.
McCauley, an employee at Ruark Enterprises, as with his boss at a site on the Red Hill subdivision on May 8. He took three trash bags, according to owner Howard Ruark, and took off in a green work truck. He drove through remote areas of West Virginia and returned five hours later. Andy justified his absence saying he was off to get drugs but changed his approach when the investigators cross-questioned him.
The court documents revealed that cadaver dogs from the Morgan County Police Department picked up the scent of a deceased body from McCauly's truck. The drywall mud found on Crossman's right shoulder and foot was consistent with the powder found on the rear of McCauley’s truck.
Metro News reported,
“Andy McCauley’s children’s mother as well as Chantel Oakley had brought up the idea that perhaps (McCauley) had gone into Riley Crossman’s bedroom with the idea to sexually assault her."
Where is Andy McCauley now?
Metro News reported Andy McCauley to be guilty of first-degree murder, concealment of a body, and death of a child by a custodian by child abuse. He was sentenced to life in prison without the chance for parole on November 4, 2021. The trial, involving 239 pieces of evidence and testimony from about three dozen people, lasted a week.
Andy McCauley is presently incarcerated at the Mt. Olive Correctional Complex, according to the West Virginia Department of Corrections.
