Joshua Russell Morrow (West Virginia State Police). Background: The West Virginia home Morrow is accused of torching after allegedly stabbing to death his fiancee and her mother (WSAZ).
A West Virginia father who previously served prison time for killing another man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for stabbing his fiancee and her mother to death before setting the home on fire and abandoning the couple”s toddler.
Joshua Russell Morrow was sentenced Wednesday to two consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of Britney Brown, 34, and her mother, Erma Brown, 57, along with 20 years for first-degree arson and five years for being a felon in possession of a firearm, court records show.
The sentence comes less than two months after a Wayne County jury convicted Morrow on all counts and recommended that he receive no mercy following the penalty phase of his trial.
In announcing the verdict in May, Cabell County Prosecuting Attorney Jason Spears, who served as special prosecutor, described the killings as “a horrific and heartbreaking case that devastated a family and shocked the community.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, the violence unfolded on Dec. 15, 2024, at Morrow’s home on Spring Valley Drive in Wayne County. Surveillance video cited in the criminal complaint showed Morrow arriving at the residence shortly before 8 p.m. and leaving about 28 minutes later as a growing glow from the home suggested the fire was intensifying.
Authorities said Morrow then drove his 15-month-old daughter to a friend’s home in neighboring Lincoln County before fleeing. The friend told investigators Morrow said people were trying to “put him in jail” and that the victims were “all gone” and had gone up in a “blaze.”
Firefighters responding to the fire later discovered Britney and Erma Brown inside the burned home. Investigators found stab wounds and blood evidence on both victims, determining they had been killed before Morrow had intentionally set the fire.
An Amber Alert was issued for the missing toddler, who was located unharmed at the friend’s home about an hour later. Troopers with the state police located and arrested Morrow before dawn.
During the penalty phase of the trial, prosecutors presented evidence of Morrow’s prior murder conviction in Kanawha County, and relatives described the lasting trauma inflicted on the victims’ family, including Britney Brown’s children, according to the Cabell County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Morrow maintained his innocence and his attorney said he intends to appeal, WSAZ reported.
The station also reported that a victim advocate read impact statements from family members before sentencing, including one from Erma Brown’s son, who said the family would never be whole again and that he could not understand how someone could take the lives of his mother and sister.
Following the hearing, Erma Brown’s sister, Lisa McCallister, told WSAZ she was grateful Morrow would spend the remainder of his life in prison, while other relatives said they dread the task of one day explaining the case to the 2-year-old daughter Morrow shared with Britney Brown.
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