A Dunbar man pleaded guilty Monday to
killing his girlfriend and dumping her dead body onto the banks of the Kanawha River
Bobby Kanode, Jr., 56, pleaded guilty
to first-degree murder in the suffocation and strangulation death of Tonya
Payne. The 35-year-old Payne was killed in early February.
Kanode wrapped Payne’s body in a
blanket, put it into a shopping cart and overturned the cart at the river. The
body was found a few days later.
Kanode apologized to Payne’s family.
Judge Tod Kaufman sentenced him to life in prison with mercy. He’ll have a
chance for parole in 15 years.
