LOGAN COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – Charges have been upgraded against a man who was previously charged with malicious assault.
Logan County Sheriff Paul Clemens tells 13 News that Steven Duty is now facing a charge of first-degree murder in connection to the death of Kelly Hampton.
Deputies say she died at the hospital after he attacked her with a hammer during an incident in August 2021. The change in charges comes after the Logan County Sheriff’s Department received the medical examiner’s report which ruled Hampton’s death a homicide.
Sheriff Clemens says that the malicious assault charge has been dropped in exchange for the first-degree murder charge.
During the original investigation, deputies discovered a video on Hampton’s phone of a fight between Hampton and Duty when the victim said at least four times that Duty hit her with a hammer. She also said he hit her with a shoe and a belt.