By Sarah Richardson
After being indicted for one count of murder in Feb. 2023, the charge against Ronald “Ron” Ray McMillion has been dismissed without prejudice in Greenbrier County Circuit Court. McMillion, who is now 73, was charged and arrested for the murder of Dee Ann Keene after an arrest warrant was issued by the Circuit Court of Greenbrier County upon the return of the indictment in 2023. He has been held in Southern Regional Jail since the indictment.
In a motion filed on Nov. 21, 2024, Prosecuting Attorney Patrick I. Via asked the court to dismiss the case without prejudice, stating that despite exhaustive searches in both Greenbrier County and in the state of Maryland, Keene’s body has not been found. Additionally, the state has interviewed new witnesses and re-interviewed existing ones, uncovering conflicting information. However, dismissing the case without prejudice means that it can be refiled at a later date.
When McMillion was arrested, the Greenbrier County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office released a statement, which said in part:
This case has been the subject of a lengthy investigation by the West Virginia State Police, dating to March 5, 2014, when Ms. Keene, a then 43-year-old resident of Renick, West Virginia, was reported to be missing. The investigation revealed that no one has seen, or heard from, Ms. Keene since February 28, 2014. Since that time, despite having not yet recovered the body of Ms. Keene, the investigation evolved from a missing person investigation into a homicide investigation, culminating in a grand jury presentation and the issuance of an indictment against McMillion.
“The Greenbrier County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is deeply appreciative of the ongoing, exhaustive investigatory efforts by several members of the West Virginia State Police culminating in the indictment and arrest of Mr. McMillion,” stated Patrick Via, Prosecuting Attorney of Greenbrier County. “While we stand committed to seeking justice for Dee Ann Keene in the prosecution of this case, we continue to encourage any member of the public who may have any information regarding this matter, including the possible whereabouts of Ms. Keene’s body, to please come forward to the Lewisburg Detachment of the West Virginia State Police.”
The state also submitted blood evidence for testing to a Virginia lab, which was not available at the West Virginia State Police Forensics Laboratory. Results from the lab, received in Sept. 2024, were shared with defense counsel, however, “the results provided no useful evidence to the State but were arguably exculpatory to some extent,” according to the filing.
In closing, the document explains, “the State has diligently attempted to fulfill its obligation to fully investigate this matter on a continuing basis and to provide such additional investigative findings to defense counsel on an ongoing basis. The State has now concluded that the trial of this matter at time is premature based on a consideration of the matters addressed herein. And therefore, the State respectfully requests that this matter be dismissed, without prejudice, so that it may be more fully evaluated to determine if further prosecution is warranted.”