Defendants in W.Va. torture case to appear in court
by The Associated Press
Print StoryEmail StoryAfter a week of national attention on the rural community of Big Creek, six people charged with torturing a Charleston woman are scheduled to appear in Logan County courtrooms.
But the proceedings may be delayed by defense attorneys recusing themselves from the case because of conflict of interest concerns.
Four of the six -- Bobby Brewster, George Messer, Alisha Burton and Karen Burton -- are scheduled to appear Monday in Logan County Magistrate Court.
Frankie Brewster and Danny Combs are scheduled for magistrate court appearances on Tuesday.
Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham said at least two of the six public defenders representing the defendants have recused themselves, though, which could result in delays.
Lawyers for Bobby Brewster and George Messer have filed motions to recuse themselves, because they represented one or more of the defendants in the past.
The six are charged with assaulting Megan Williams, 20, for more than a week at a ramshackle trailer in Big Creek.
Police say Williams was tortured, sexually assaulted, forced to eat animal droppings and taunted with a racial slur. Williams' ordeal ended when an anonymous tip led to her discovery by police.
Frankie Brewster, 49, and her son, Bobby Brewster, 24, are both charged with kidnapping and sexual assault, among other counts.
Combs, 20, of Harts, is charged with sexual assault and malicious wounding; Karen Burton, 46, of Chapmanville, is charged with malicious wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony; and Burton's daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, and Messer, 27, both of Chapmanville, are charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery.
The most serious charge facing the Burtons and Messer is assault during the commission of a felony, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
All six remain in custody in lieu of $100,000 cash bail each.
The case has drawn intense public attention, with national organizations like the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the NAACP visiting the state. The Rev. Al Sharpton has also said he plans to come to West Virginia because of the case.
Because Williams is black and the defendants are white, some -- including church groups close to the Williams family -- want hate crimes charges filed, either at the state or federal level.
U.S. Attorney Charles T. Miller has said he doesn't currently plan to file civil rights charges, while Abraham said he may file new or amended charges in the days to come.
Williams had a "social relationship'' with Bobby Brewster going back at least several months, according to Abraham, which could make state hate crimes or federal civil rights charges difficult to prove. In July, Bobby Brewster was arrested by State Police and charged with assaulting Williams.
Last week, Abraham said the intense public interest in the case may mean that any trials of the six will be held outside Logan County.
"It may be hard to keep this in Logan,'' he said.
Brewster and the other five suspects have previous arrest records going back several years, according to records from Logan County Magistrate Court.
Since 1991, police have filed 108 criminal charges against the six. Frankie Brewster faced the most serious charges among them. Karen Burton, 46, of Chapmanville had the most charges in all, with 33; and her daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, had 20.
