WAYNE, W.Va. — Charges of murder and arson against a Huntington man will next be considered by a Wayne County grand jury after a Monday morning hearing.
A Wayne County magistrate found there was enough evidence against Joshua Morrow to forward the charges to a grand jury.
Morrow, 42, is charged with killing Britney Brown. 34, and her mother Erma Brown, 57. on Dec. 15 and then allegedly setting the house they were in on Spring Valley Drive near Ceredo on fire.
State police testified Monday that Morrow took a 15-month-old baby from the residence after stabbing the two women and setting the fire. An Amber Alert was issued for the child who was found safely in Hamlin.
Authorities said Morrow as in a relationship with Britney Brown.
The trooper told the magistrate Morrow drove to Hamlin and told people he knew that he needed help with the child. He allegedly said Britney was trying to put him in jail and now she and her mother were gone.
The trooper also testified that video surveillance shows Morrow driving to and from the crime scene at a high rate of speed. The fire was noticed shortly after he left the area.
Morrow was arrested last Friday on two counts of first degree murder and one count of first degree arson. The criminal complaint said the victims were stabbed several times.
Two knives and a gun were found in Morrow’s car.
He remains in the Western Regional Jail without bond on the murder charges.
Morrow was arrested in 2000 for the murder of Edward Washington in Kanawha County. He was age 18 when he was indicted on the murder charges. He entered a guilty plea to a charge of second-degree murder in 2001 for Washington’s death. He was sentenced to a prison term of 40 years. He was paroled in 2017.
Photo courtesy WCHS-TV