The Shadow
BY DARRELL GLEASON
State Editor
An Alleghany County Circuit Court jury deliberated three hours Wednesday before convicting Casey Shane Gillispie of first-degree felony murder and robbery.
The convictions are connected to a Dec. 1, 2013, incident that left a 71-year-old Selma man dead.
The prosecution had sought a capital murder conviction against Gillispie, which could have carried the death penalty.
Prosecutors said that Gillispie, 23, along with a co-defendant, Dustin Thomas McLear, went to Selma with the intent to rob Joe Ray Rumfelt of cash.
McLear, 22, testified in court Wednesday that Gillispie hit Rumfelt twice in the head with a 20-pound dumbbell when the robbery didn’t go as planned.
McLear admitted that he shot Rumfelt six times with a .22-caliber revolver — four times in the head and twice in the upper torso.
According to McLear’s account, Rumfelt remained on his feet and continued to confront him. It was then, according to McLear, that Gillispie hit Rumfelt twice in the back of the head with the dumbbell.
As Rumfelt lay bleeding in the living room floor, McLear and Gillispie fled the scene and left him to die. They later returned to Rumfelt’s home in an attempt to clean up the crime scene. They took more items before leaving. Rumfelt was found dead two days later by a next-door neighbor.
In August, McLear pled guilty to capital murder and robbery. As part of the plea, he avoided the death penalty and was sentenced to two life terms without parole. The plea agreement required McLear to testify against Gillispie.
But from the start of the trial Monday, Gillispie’s defense attorneys, Tony Anderson and Thomas Blaylock of Roanoke, sought to poke holes in McLear’s credibility.
They told the jury that McLear had changed his story to police numerous times before finally striking a deal with the prosecution on July 30 — two weeks before he was scheduled to go on trial.
Blaylock said McLear made the deal to avoid the death penalty, while at the same time, seeking to implicate McLear for the murder. Blaylock referred to McLear as a “flat-out” liar.
Ed Stein, commonwealth’s attorney for Alleghany County and Covington, argued that there was additional evidence to bolster McLear’s testimony.
“Mr. Gillispie had no choice but to eliminate the witness, otherwise, he was going away for the robbery,” Stein said.
But while conceding that Gillispie was an active participant in the robbery of Rumfelt, Anderson continually attacked McLear’s credibility as a witness.
“Don’t get caught up in believing that because Mr. Gillispie participated in a robbery, that he participated in the infliction of a fatal injury,” Anderson said.
“This case was about Dustin McLear deflecting blame on someone else, and in this case, he deflected it on Casey Gillispie,” Anderson added.
To obtain a capital murder conviction, the prosecution had to prove that there was premeditated intent by Gillispie to kill Rumfelt. First-degree felony murder does not require premeditated intent.
The sentencing phase of the trial began Wednesday evening and it is expected to wrap up today.
Gillispie faces 20 years to life in prison on the first-degree felony murder charge and five years to life for the robbery.
Court testimony indicated that McLear and Gillispie began plotting a robbery on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 1. They originally thought about robbing the Covington Pizza Hut but decided there were too many cars on the parking lot.
Then, their thoughts turned to Rumfelt, to whom they had sold merchandise four days earlier.
Rumfelt, who dealt in antiques and restored furniture, was known for carrying large sums of cash in his wallet. One of his sons, Timothy Rumfelt of Roanoke, said it was common for his father to have “two to three hundred dollars on him.”
After purchasing the .22-revolver and obtaining ammunition from one of McLear’s relatives, Gillispie and McLear contacted Rumfelt via phone.
McLear said the two smoked some marijuana while traveling to Rumfelt’s 1412 Donovan St. residence in Selma. They gained access to the home under the pretense of selling him a BB gun. Gillispie was well acquainted with Rumfelt, and had been to his home on numerous occasions, Stein said.
After Rumfelt offered $10 for the BB gun and pulled out his wallet, McLear pointed the .22-revolver at his head and demanded that the cash be handed over. When Rumfelt refused, McLear opened fire.
“I fired a shot and when he didn’t calm down, I unloaded,” McLear said in court Wednesday.
Dr. Amy Tharp of the state medical examiner’s office in Roanoke, said Rumfelt was shot in the left cheek, in the outer corner of his right eye, in the back of his right ear and in the center of the chin. He also suffered gunshots to the right and left sides of his back.
The autopsy also indicated that Rumfelt suffered a fractured skull and hand injuries. Tharp said the hand injuries may have occurred as he tried to defend himself.
“Collectively, as a whole, what did cause his death was a loss of blood,” Tharp said.
Gillispie did not testify during the trial, but the jury did hear a brief segment of a recorded statement he gave to police shortly after his arrest.
After initially denying that he had any knowledge of the incident at Rumfelt’s home, Gillispie later admitted that he participated in the robbery. He denied that he played a role in the shooting and bludgeoning of Rumfelt, however.
Gillispie said that as McLear began shooting Rumfelt, he ran toward the back door.
Gillispie said he saw Rumfelt stagger and go to the floor after being hit by one of the shots. As Rumfelt attempted to regain his balance, McLear struck him in the head with the dumbbell, Gillispie told police.
On their return visit to Rumfelt’s house, Gillispie and McLear tried to clean up evidence. While there, they stole more items, including two guns and Rumfelt’s cell phone.
According to McLear, one of the guns was swapped for drugs. The other gun was hidden at a water tank on Alleghany Avenue in Covington. Gillispie had used the area to stash items he had stolen in other instances.
Police later recovered both murder weapons. The dumbell was found in the Cowpasture River in the McKinney Hollow section of Alleghany County. The .22-revolver was found under a garbage can near McLear’s grandmother’s residence in Covington.
The cell phone, which was smashed by the suspects in an effort to destroy evidence, was found in the Moses Hole section of Potts Creek. Police found the BB gun at the same location.
In the sentencing phase of the trial, three of Rumfelt’s family members testified before the jury.
They described Rumfelt, who was widowed and lived alone, as a kind and generous man who had an affinity for helping others. He was retired from Dominion Virginia Power.
“He was real gentle and would help anybody that he could. He was just a real good person,” said Rumfelt’s brother, Harold “Bucky” Rumfelt of Farmville.
Harold Rumfelt said his brother was scheduled to travel with him to South Carolina in early December 2013. When he could not reach him via phone, he became concerned and contacted other family members. That is when Joe Rumfelt was found dead by a neighbor.
“I will live with this the rest of my days,” said a tearful Harold Rumfelt.
Joe Rumfelt was known for carrying out a strict physical regimen — walking up to five mile a day and lifting weights. He also followed a strict diet.
“He took care of himself, exercised and ate right. He’s just gone for nothing, absolutely nothing,” Harold Rumfelt said.
Joe Rumfelt’s sister, Brenda Fordham of Williamsburg, said her brother looked after her after her husband died in 2003.
[His death] was a tremendous shock to the entire family. One we will never get over,” she said while sobbing.
“An excellent man’s life was worth more than a thief’s and a murderer’s life. What is [Joe’s] life worth? Less than nothing?” she asked.
Sentencing was scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. today.
