WELLSBURG — A Wellsburg man has been sentenced to life in prison, without chance of parole, after pleading guilty to the murder of his father, a death that had been called a suicide 37 years ago.

The sentence for James Edward Adams Sr., 63, of Wellsburg, was complicated initially by conflicting testimony from Adams, who first confessed to the crime, then recanted in a psychological evaluation before reaffirming his earlier confession on Monday.

Brooke County Prosecuting Attorney Allison Cowden said on Nov. 10, Adams called the Brooke County Emergency 911 Center to state he was responsible for the shooting death of his 65-year-old father on Nov. 27, 1987.

A criminal complaint filed against Adams states a coroner listed the cause of death for Edward F. Adams as “a self-inflicted bullet wo

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