Abingdon couple faces capital murder charges

BY MICHAEL L. OWENS and GEORGE JACKSON
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER and 11 CONNECTS

Neighbors say the fighting between stepson Coty Wayne Young and stepfather Donald Wayne Heath was a regular occurrence at Edgemont Apartments.

“Since I moved here, in August, I’d say [Heath] kicked him out four times,” next-door neighbor Gwyn Kerr said Wednesday.

Young, 19, always returned to the apartment complex on Baugh Lane a week or two later, homeless and hungry and the stepfather agreed to take him back, Kerr said.

Their bickering grew so loud Tuesday night that Kerr said she spent several hours at a nearby restaurant just to escape the noise.

“It sounded like someone threw someone down the stairs,” she said.

Kerr returned to a nightmare.

The fight ended around midnight with Heath and his girlfriend dead, the girlfriend’s nearby apartment unit in flames, and Coty and his girlfriend named the prime suspects in a capital murder case, Abingdon police have confirmed.

“It’s not something I ever expected would happen,” Kerr said. “I heard them fighting a lot next door, but I never thought it would come to this.”

The stepfather’s girlfriend has been identified as Karen L. McKibben, 51, who worked at the nearby Hardees restaurant. She lived in the apartment unit directly behind Heath, a truck driver who was recovering from surgery for a hernia.

Young is charged with capital murder and arson. His girlfriend, Stephanie Renee Molino, 24, is charged with accessory to capital murder, first-degree murder and arson. Both are being held without bond at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Abingdon.

On Wednesday, a wide swath of black soot covered the red brick above McKibben’s front door. Firefighters milled around under a pair of tents set up outside her door. Under another tent was a blackened pile of furniture that included a charred baby carriage and a recliner.

The murder investigation began with a 1 a.m. call to 911 about a fire at apartment No. 17, where McKibben lived.

Neighbor Travis Hurley was playing video games when someone banged on his front door screaming about a fire. He stepped outside to see all attention focused two doors down.

“It was burning embers around the edge of the door,” he said.

Another neighbor kicked in McKibben’s front door, only to be met with a wall of flames and black smoke that blocked any chance of entering.

That neighbor, Travis Taylor, had hoped to save anyone that might have been inside.

“I just wanted to make sure she was out,” he said.

Firefighters with the Abingdon Fire Department discovered McKibben’s body inside. They also discovered wounds on her body that suggested she was dead before the blaze erupted, as well as evidence that suggested the fire may have been set, police have confirmed.

McKibben’s body was the only one found in the apartment, however.

Hurley, when questioned by police early Wednesday, said he made a point to mention McKibben’s boyfriend, Heath.

“I mentioned something about a guy [Heath] who was always back and forth [at McKibben’s] apartment,” he said. “They already knew his name.”

Heath was nowhere to be found in the hours immediately following the fire, neighbors said. Throughout the daylong investigation, neighbors say they heard snippets of police conversation suggesting that Heath had vanished.

Kerr fears that the banging heard before she left may have been the final fight between Heath and Young. From the nuggets of yelling she overheard, Heath wanted his stepson to get a steady job and for Molino to help keep the apartment clean.

Amplifying Kerr’s fears are the rumors that some neighbors saw blood in Heath’s doorway as they watched police scour the apartment. The day passed with a Virginia State Police truck parked in front of Heath’s home and investigators milling around inside.

A glance through Heath’s living-room window revealed a rectangular, 2-foot-by-1-foot swatch cut from the carpeting just inside the front door.

The search for Heath ended in the Hickory Tree community of Sullivan County, Tenn., where police say they found his body. It had been dumped over an embankment next to a road running through the Cherokee National Forest.

Kerr wondered if Heath’s car was used to move his own body. She said the car was missing from its usual spot in front of Heath’s apartment when she returned at 2 a.m. But it was back when she stepped outside again hours later at 7 a.m.

A tow truck removed the car Wednesday evening.

Allie Robinson contributed to this story. Click the play icon above to watch a video report.

mowens@bristolnews.com
(276) 645-2549

gjackson@11connects.com
(423) 434-4504