HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A man who pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder will face 40 years in prison.
Peter Vanmaasdam III, 31, was arrested for his connection to the September 2023 death of Mary Deel in Cabell County. Deel’s body was found near railroad tracks in Huntington.
Vanmaasdam shot Deel in a home with a shotgun, then set her body on fire before he eventually placed the body near the tracks, according to criminal complaints.
Vanmaasdam was sentenced to 40 years on Tuesday, and that will run consecutively with a 1–5-year sentence for concealment of a body.