CLARKSBURG -- A Doddridge County woman faces multiple charges in Pennsylvania, including a first-degree murder charge, in a 3-year-old case in which a Pennsylvania grandmother was slain, according to police records.
Rhonda Stout, 24, of West Union was charged Nov. 16. She is being held without bond in the Berks County (Pa.) Prison.
Stout allegedly killed Masako Kille, 67, of Strausstown, Pa., after stealing her car, a 1993 Mercury Sable, said Sgt. Tom McDaniel of the Pennsylvania State Police.
On June 16, 1998, Kille left her residence to have dinner with her son in Wolmesdorf, Pa. When she failed to arrive at her son's residence, her daughter-in-law reported her disappearance to the police, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
After stealing Kille's car, Stout and her accomplice killed Kille because she struggled, the affidavit said.
The car was discovered by Virginia State Police on July 21, 1998, police said.
Kille's body was found in Greenwich Township, Pa., on Feb. 8, 1999.
An autopsy revealed that she had been shot twice in the head, McDaniel said.
Stout was serving a 61Ú2-year jail term for her part in post office robberies in West Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the attempted robbery of a post office in Pennsylvania, when she was charged, McDaniel said.
In the Pennsylvania case, Stout also allegedly got a gas station owner to leave with her and go back to her motel room. Once there, she and her accomplice, who is incarcerated in connection with the post office robberies, allegedly held the man at gunpoint while they tied him up and stole his car, a black Lexus.
Stout is charged with murder of the first degree, murder of the second degree, criminal conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery, robbery of a motor vehicle, two counts of theft by unlawful taking or disposition, abuse of a corpse, receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy to commit multiple criminal objectives, the criminal complaint said.
Stout's preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. before District Justice Gloria Stitzel, McDaniel said.
Staff writer Lynette K. Miller can be reached at 626-1442 or by e-mail at lmiller@exponent-telegram.com.
