A Wyoming County
John New, 22, of Brier Creek, has
plead guilty to first degree murder and will never be eligible for parole.
Investigators have said the victim,
Elaine Birchfield, was killed when she walked into her Brenton home in Feb.
2013 while New was in the middle of a burglary.
After the murder, he took off in
her vehicle and was arrested a day later in Mingo County
Birchfield, 60, had driven a bus at
Huff Consolidated
School in Wyoming
County
Previously, deputies with the
Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department had said there was no prior relationship
between New and Birchfield.
New originally faced additional
charges of daytime robbery and grand larceny.
