Timothy Kennedy was found guilty on all counts in the 2023 death of Sgt. Cory Maynard.

WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — A Mingo County jury convicted Timothy Kennedy of first-degree murder after prosecutors said he ambushed West Virginia State Police Sgt. Cory Maynard, shot him three times and attacked him after the trooper responded to a shooting call.

The verdict closed a 10-day trial over a June 2, 2023, call that began with a wounded civilian on Beech Creek Drive and ended with one trooper dead, another fired on and a rural community locked down during a manhunt. Kennedy, 32, was convicted of first-degree murder with no mercy, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and disarming a law enforcement officer.

Maynard, 37, was near the end of his shift when other troopers headed toward the Beech Creek area in Mingo County. Trooper Jonathan Ziegler told jurors that he urged Maynard not to come because his workday was over. “I told him to go home,” Ziegler said in court. Maynard refused, saying he was coming to help. The call had started after Benjamin Baldwin was shot in the afternoon. Baldwin survived, but the first scene quickly became part of a wider danger as troopers moved through the rural area near Matewan looking for Kennedy.

Prosecutors said Kennedy hid and waited as Maynard arrived. Evidence presented at trial showed Kennedy shot Maynard with a long gun, then stood over him and struck him with a firearm. Ziegler told jurors Kennedy showed “no mercy” during the attack. Maynard was pronounced dead despite efforts to save him. Kennedy also was accused of firing at another trooper and of taking Maynard’s service weapon before fleeing. Investigators later recovered the police-issued revolver from a vehicle connected to Kennedy after his arrest. Authorities said Kennedy was bruised and bloodied when he was taken into custody that night.

The jury’s decision came after days of testimony from police, medical workers, expert witnesses, family members and Baldwin, the first shooting victim. Baldwin told jurors that he had to learn to walk again and had undergone several surgeries after being shot. Jurors also heard about video evidence from the scene and testimony about Kennedy’s behavior after his arrest. A medic, a trooper and a nurse testified that Kennedy appeared to act normally after he was captured, while the defense tried to show that drugs affected his state of mind during the shootings.

Kennedy testified in his own defense and said he had been using methamphetamine and was hallucinating. His attorneys argued that he was in a drug-induced psychotic state and lacked the intent needed for first-degree murder. Kennedy told jurors he could not remember what happened and said he was shocked by what he saw on video. Prosecutors argued that the video, witness accounts and Kennedy’s actions before and after the shooting showed intent. The jury rejected the defense argument and returned guilty verdicts on every count. The no-mercy finding was one of the most important parts of the verdict. Under West Virginia law, a first-degree murder conviction can carry life in prison, and a jury’s mercy recommendation can affect parole eligibility. Jurors denied mercy after finding Kennedy guilty, meaning he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. The same panel also convicted him of charges tied to the earlier shooting of Baldwin, the attack on another trooper, the taking of Maynard’s firearm and the robbery count connected to the case.

Maynard’s death drew statewide attention from the day of the shooting. Gov. Jim Justice ordered flags lowered after Maynard was killed and said at the time that he was heartbroken. Maynard was remembered as a husband, father of two and veteran trooper. Police and community members later joined processions and memorial events as the case moved from arrest to indictment, pretrial hearings and trial. His death was listed as a line-of-duty death after he was fatally shot while responding to the Beech Creek call.

The trial also brought renewed attention to the Beech Creek area, a rural section of Mingo County near the Kentucky border. The first reports of gunfire sent law enforcement into a spread-out area where homes, narrow roads and wooded land can make a search difficult. After Maynard was shot, authorities launched an hourslong manhunt for Kennedy. Residents were warned as police searched the area, and officers from several agencies responded. Kennedy was captured that night after a roadblock and arrest that ended the immediate threat.

In court, the case turned on what Kennedy meant to do when Maynard arrived. Prosecutors pointed to the ambush, the number of shots, the beating, the flight and the taking of the service weapon. The defense pointed to drug use and claimed Kennedy’s mind was not working normally. Jurors heard both accounts before beginning deliberations Monday afternoon. They returned the murder verdict and the other guilty findings, then came back with the no-mercy decision after additional deliberation.

West Virginia State Police officials said the verdict brought some measure of justice, while also noting that it could not undo Maynard’s death. The courtroom was packed with troopers and supporters when the verdict was returned. Lonnie Faircloth, president of the West Virginia Troopers Association, said the case mattered not only to Maynard’s family and fellow officers, but also to the community that lost him. The guilty verdict ended the trial phase, but not the court process.

Kennedy’s sentencing was scheduled for July 2026 in Mingo County Circuit Court. He remained convicted of all five counts, with the no-mercy finding placing him in line for life in prison without parole on the murder conviction.

Author note: Last updated June 17, 2026.