CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Kanawha County woman convicted of first-degree murder could spend the rest of her life behind bars following her sentencing.

Virginia Smith received a life sentence with mercy from Kanawha County Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard on Tuesday. She pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2021 death of Cheyenne Johnson, in addition to two other charges.

Smith, who admitted to shooting Johnson in the head and then dumping her body in a well with co-defendant Michael Smith, will serve sentences for the concealment of a deceased human body and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony consecutive to the life sentence.

The sentence of life with mercy means Smith will one day be eligible for parole, a condition of her plea agreement. Before reading her sentence, J

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