{Charleston, West Virginia}...Forty-eight year old Dana December Smith, who is serving two life sentences without mercy at Mount Olive Correctional Complex for the 1991 murders of 63 year old Margaret McClain of Cabin Creek and her daughter, 36 year old Pamela Castoneda, is continuing to have his case re-tried. McClain and Castoneda were found dead in their home with multiple stab wounds. One was sexually assaulted. A family Chihuahua was found dead and hidden in a laundry room. An inmate on death row in Texas confessed to the crime years after Smith was convicted. Some believe the DNA evidence in the investigation may have been mishandled. Kanawha Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib has granted the request of Smith's current lawyer, Kevin Postelwaite of Jackson County, to withdraw from the case. Several attorneys have represented Smith, but either Smith wasn't happy with his attorneys or they chose to leave the case.
