Corpus Delicti
Note: I have recently been informed that John Preston, the dog handler in this case has been discredited in a number of other investigations in which he was involved. In several of the cases convictions have been reversed. I intend to revise this article to reflect this development. In the meantime, readers are urged to consider the circumstantial evidence produced in this case that did not involve Preston’s participation in considering Stephen Epperly’s guilt or innocence. ~ M.G.
For murder though it have no tongue, will speak With most miraculous organ.
~William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Proving a murder has occurred when there is no body is always a toilsome proposition. Sometimes, the state has it “easy:” the person who committed the crime confesses the deed. Sometimes, there is a little bit more effort required: An eyewitness sees the defendant kill the victim, or witnesses the killer dispose of the body. When this occurs, the state must have other evidence that corroborates the witness testimony. The most difficult no-body murder case to prove is when the state has no confession and no witnesses and only circumstantial evidence to establish the corpus delecti.
Which brings us to the concept of corpus delicti in the first place. Just what does the term corpus delicti mean? What it is not is “the dead body.” Basically, corpus delicti means the elements of the crime. In other words, that the victim was unlawfully killed within the jurisdiction of the court where the accused is standing trial. Of course, this is a very general description of the term, and each type of crime has elements that distinguish it from other crimes. Thus, someone who commits involuntary manslaughter by accidentally dropping an anvil on the downstairs neighbor’s head while moving his ironworking supplies to the attic is not guilty of the same crime as Aunt Martha, who puts a pinch of arsenic in the parson’s tea so he won’t report her for stealing from the church’s choir robe fund to pay off her gambling interests.
The general public’s misunderstanding of corpus delicti leads some to believe that it is possible to get away with murder if the authorities cannot find the body.
Fortunately, this is not true. People have been and will continue to be convicted of murder despite the fact that no body has ever turned up. Perhaps the California Court of Appeals put it best:
The fact that a murderer may successfully dispose of the body of the victim does not entitle him to an acquittal. That is one form of success for which society has no reward. People v. Manson, 71 Cal. App.3d 1, 42, 139 Cal. Rptr. 275, 298 (1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 953 (1978). (Yes, that Manson).
Stephen Epperly was one of those people who mistakenly thought he could get away with murder if he disposed of the body. Instead, Epperly was brought to justice by a plethora of circumstantial evidence tied up very neatly by the leash of an amazing four-legged detective.
Gina Hall, 18, was described as a “very beautiful, well-dressed, pleasant, soft-spoken” young woman who was popular with her peers, respectful of her parents and close to her older sister, Dlana, with whom she was living in Radford, Virginia during the summer of 1980. It was late June and the sisters were taking summer classes at Radford University, where Gina was a freshman and her sister was in graduate school.
Gina loved to dance and was quite athletic, friends and family recalled. She may have liked an occasional glass of wine, but she did not smoke or use drugs. In short, Gina was “a very happy person.” She certainly was not the sort to simply disappear.
When Gina was very little girl, she was seriously burned and had scars on her right side from her upper arm to her thigh. She was self-conscious about these scars and while she was friendly and outgoing, her self-consciousness kept her from becoming physically intimate. Gina’s sister would later testify that she was extremely concerned about how the scars would affect a man’s feelings for her and as a result, “she could not have handled the emotional stress of a physical relationship with somebody and never put herself in that situation.” In addition, she had expressed concern about becoming pregnant because of her skin grafts’ lack of elasticity.
The reason for revealing intimate facts about an innocent victim will become evident shortly.
Gina had just finished summer midterms and was in a “great mood,” her sister recalled. She wanted to go dancing but Dlana said she was too tired. Instead, Dlana lent her sister her brown Chevrolet, and watched as her 5-foot-tall sister adjusted the seat as far forward as it would go before she headed out to the Marriott in Blacksburg, Virginia for a night of music and dancing.
It was about 10 p.m. Saturday, June 28, 1980 and it was the last time she ever saw Gina.
Stephen Epperly and his friend, Bill King had known each other since they were children. They were part of a group of people, including Gina Hall, who met up at the Marriott that Saturday night, although neither Epperly nor King had ever met Gina before. King’s mother and stepfather had a home on Claytor Lake nearby, and the two men had stopped there earlier to check on things at the request of King’s parents.
Epperly and Gina hit it off pretty well at the Marriott, dancing four or five songs. As the evening wore on, Epperly asked King if he could borrow King’s car and the keys to the lake house, but King needed the car and wouldn’t let Epperly take it. He was welcome to use the house, but Epperly would have to find his own way there.
Because a group of people were dancing that night, Gina mistakenly assumed that when Epperly asked if she wanted to go for a midnight swim, he meant that more than just the two of them would be going, King later told police.
“She seemed confused as to what car was going and exactly who was going,” he testified. “I think that when she came out she thought maybe” there would be more people going.
Instead it was just Epperly and her.
Several hours later, King and another woman decided to head to the house for a swim. When the couple arrived, they saw Gina’s Chevy in the driveway, but no lights on in the house.
They didn’t want to surprise anyone, so when they entered the house they slammed the doors and turned on the kitchen light, hopefully giving Epperly and Gina — if they needed it — time to compose themselves.
Epperly called out, “Bill, is that you?”
King replied that it was and that he and his date were going swimming. Epperly said, “She’s got to be getting back,” and indicated that “they” were leaving.
The woman with Bill King saw Epperly standing without his shirt, drying himself with a towel.
Neither King nor the woman saw or heard Gina that night.
Around 7 a.m. Sunday morning, a patrol car spotted the brown Chevy parked near a railroad trestle that crosses a river outside Radford. The trunk was open. Because this was a popular fishing site, the iofficer didn’t suspect foul play, but when almost 18 hours later, when the deputy sheriff cruised by again and the vehicle was still in the same position, he ran the plates. The car was registered to Dlana Hall and had not been reported stolen.
Shortly after the deputy came across the abandoned Chevy, Epperly returned to the lakefront house and while King was outside playing with his son, asked if he could go inside for a drink. King later told authorities that he thought his friend remained inside for an unusually long time and remarked about it. Epperly shrugged it off.
That night, Dlana, concerned for her sister, called a couple of friends who went out looking for Gina. They found the car where the deputy had seen it and called police. The friends who found the car thought it was especially curious that the seat was pushed back all the way, since “Gina was a little girl.”
The media took hold of the story of the missing co-ed by mid-week, reaching King and Epperly on Tuesday, July 1. King went to where Epperly was working and advised him to go to the police to report his encounter with Gina, “so they wouldn’t think he had anything to hide.”
Of course, Epperly did have something to hide, so he asked King who he had talked to about the missing girl. He was non-committal about his intention to go to the police.
Later that day, Epperly talked to another friend whose brother was an attorney. Out of the blue, Epperly asked his buddy if his brother might “represent him.” He then asked his friend to inquire “if there was anything that they could do to him if they didn’t find a body.”
King went to the police the next day with his information and brought them back to his parents’ home. There they found a broken ankle bracelet Gina wore.
Epperly told police when he was interviewed for the first time that he had driven Gina from the nightclub to the lake house. He said he heard her call her sister to tell her that she would be home in the morning. He said they went to the dock and that he went swimming but that Gina did not. He admitted that “they had kissed some,” but said that Gina told him she would have to know him very well before she would sleep with him.
According to him, they left the house and Gina dropped him off in Radford. He went to bed and never saw her again.
As the days went by, Epperly and King talked more about Gina. At one point, King asked point-blank if Epperly killed her.
“Bill, I don’t know anything about it,” Epperly replied. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
By this time, the Radford police had a warrant to examine the lake house. They discovered bloodstains on the driveway, on a walkway leading to the lake, and inside the house.
The interior of the home had been meticulously cleaned, but not sufficiently to escape the criminalists who scoured the scene. They found blood and hair on a golf shoe, blood on a dustpan, and blood and hair in the gasket on a refrigerator door. A large bloodstain, more than a foot across was found inside the living room and had been bleached out to a faint pink. Testimony later showed that there had never been bloodstains in those locations before.
Searchers looking for Gina discovered a blue blood-stained towel near where the Chevy had been found. It contained fibers consistent with those found in the carpet at the lake house.
King’s mother later identified it as one that was missing from the home.
Nearby, a policeman found one of Gina’s shoes at the opposite end of the trestle from where the car and the towel were found.
Two weeks later, other searchers found all of the clothes Gina had worn the night she vanished. The clothes were tied in a bundle and were bloodstained.
Forensic testing showed that all of the blood on the recovered evidence was human type O, the same as Gina’s. The hair found in the golf cleat was identified as a human pubic hair; it did not match Epperly, who had now officially become a suspect.
In the trunk of the Chevrolet, criminalists found type O blood and head hairs similar to the ones found on a hairbrush used by Gina. The blue towel also contained Type O blood and held six hairs similar to Gina’s.
On the bundle of bloody clothes, forensic scientists found a head hair similar to Epperly’s.
The most amazing circumstantial evidence that pointed to Epperly’s involvement in Gina’s disapperance came with the arrival of a tracking dog owned by John Preston, a retired Pennsylvania State Trooper who was qualified as a dog tracking expert in courts in 17 states. Along with his German Shepherd, he had worked more than 150 criminal cases across the United States.
Preston and his dog arrived a week after Epperly had first been accused by police of having killed Gina, but the ex-trooper was not told by Virginia authorities that they had a suspect. Neither Preston nor the dog had ever been to the Radford area before.
Police secured a warrant for an article of Epperly’s clothing. Then Preston and the Virginia authorities returned to where Gina’s car had been left and let the shepherd acquire the scent from the clothing. The dog then began what is known as a “casting search,” passing back-and-forth in an ever-widening arc in an attempt to pick up the scent.
The dog picked up the suspect’s smell about 100 yards from where the Chevy had been found.
He left the road and headed up a grade toward the railroad trestle and started walking along the tracks.
The dog led his handlers on a roundabout tour of Radford, touching each location where searchers had found the items related to the missing girl. Preston would later testify that the dog indicated the scent had “paused” at three locations as if the person had spent some time at each point. The pauses occurred at each place searchers had recovered evidence.
From the railroad tracks the dog followed the trail through a box factory, a railroad switching yard and across the parking lot of the New River Valley Shopping Plaza, and by a self-serve car wash.
Finally, the dog entered a subdivision, walked up to the front door of a house and sat down.
The dog stopped on the front porch of Stephen Epperly’s home.
The next day, the dog was again given Epperly’s scent and introduced to six blue towels including the one that had been found near Gina’s car. The dog immediately sat down in front of the blue towel found by searchers in the wood. That towel not only contained blood of the same type as the missing girl and carpet fibers consistent with those found at the beach house, it also apparently contained a scent consistent with Epperly’s clothing.
Stephen Epperly was being interviewed by Radford police at the station the next day when Preston and the dog showed up. While the suspect was inside, the dog was “scented” on the blue towel. The dog poked around the parking lot, which contained several other cars, and stopped at the driver’s side door of Epperly’s car.
The dog then picked up the trail from the car to the police station and came directly to the door of the interrogation room where the suspect was sitting.
After the Radford police told Epperly what the dog had done, he put his head down in his arms and said over and over “That’s a damn good dog.”
Epperly was indicted and tried for first degree murder. Gina’s body was never recovered, which required the state to prove both that she was dead and that her death had resulted from a criminal act on the part of Epperly.
Furthermore, to sustain a conviction of first degree murder, the state had to demonstrate that Epperly had the specific intent to kill.
The State of Virginia presented its case to the jury, pointing out Gina’s sudden disappearance, the evidence at the lake house of a violent struggle, the pains the killer made to hide the evidence by disposing of her clothes and the bloodstained towels, Epperly’s discussions with his friends, and the unimpeachable evidence of the tracking dog. These circumstances, taken together, indicated, in the state’s view, that Gina Hall had been murdered and that Stephen Epperly had killed her.
The jury agreed and convicted him of first degree murder. On appeal, the verdict and the life sentence were affirmed.
Shameless Self-Promotion
VERY ACCURATE ARTICLE. GINA’S BODY WAS NEVER RECOVERED! SHE IS STILL VERY MUCH MISSED BY HER FAMILY AND WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN!
Comment by COUSIN OF GINA HALL — 12/30/2005 @ 12:40 am
Is Epperly still in prison? Did the police feel the body was disposed of at the Claytor Lake site?
Comment by Martha Perdue — 8/30/2006 @ 12:40 pm
Is Epperly still in prison? Did police feel the body was disposed at Claytor Lake?
Comment by Martha Perdue — 8/30/2006 @ 12:41 pm
I just got out of the Marines in January 1980 and was living in Christiansburg and attending
NRVCC majoring in Criminal Justice. I definitely remember this case and my ncle and I went to the courthouse (Pulaski County, I believe) and sat in on testimony one day. I can still remember the smerk on Epperly’s face throughout the trial. He appeared confisdent that he was going to get away with that henious crime. It was a relief to see justice done. Perhaps one day he will reveal where Gina’s body is for her family’s closure.
Comment by Gene Furrow — 10/7/2006 @ 6:19 pm
I remember Gina. We went to school together, she was in a grade lower than I was. We were not
close, but we were friends. she was beautiful, smart and had her life’s dreams ahead of her.
I remember how sorry and sad I was to hear she was dead. So young, what could have happened,
a car wreck, and to learn how she might have died at this evil sick monsters hands,
I was in shock, angry and sick at the same time. Such a beautiful life taken so needlessly,
so violently.
I hope that Steven Epperly will some day have the guts and courage to tell Gina’s Family where
she is and what he did to her.
You are right where you need to be, locked up like the animal
you are.
Judgement day is coming for you. Will you tell the truth then, COWARD!!
Comment by S.Jones — 10/19/2006 @ 1:36 am
Gina Hall,I have read the words of the brutality aand horror you went through that night in July of 1980 resulting in your untimely parting from this earth. I vow to attempt a search for your remains so you can finally have a decent burial and your family can have closure,godbless you Gina Hall,and godbless your family.
Comment by Jim Robinson — 3/6/2007 @ 2:23 am
Reference Gina Hall,correction,June 28th,1980 when you went missing,Godbless.
Comment by Jim Robinson — 3/6/2007 @ 3:08 am
I was preparing to write a letter to the Virginia Parole Board and was curious as to what I would find if I typed in Stephen Epperly’s name? I found this article. It is very accurate.He is now up for parole, again, and our family is having to relive all of this as we write to the board to justify why he should not be released.
Comment by cousin of Gina Hall — 4/4/2007 @ 12:39 pm
I am a graduate of Radford University with a Masters in Criminal Justice. One of my classmates wrote a paper on this case and I have been intrigued by it ever since. I “googled” Gina Hall and Epperly’s names and this page appeared. Thanks to the person who summarized this case so very well. At one time, there was a website that had pages of facts about the case. If anyone has any idea about this, please comment.
Comment by Randall Hyler — 4/9/2007 @ 2:09 pm
I was a sophmore at Pulaski County High school taking drafting in the spring of 1980. Late in the school year (April/May) we had a substitute teacher - Stephen Epperly. I remember very clearly what a jerk he was and how he even got into a scuffle with a fellow student during class! (The student was a very popular & well liked football player and his dad was a local doctor. Frankly I think Epperly was intimidated by him and was trying to impress the girl’s in class) Anyway, you can imagine our shock that summer when Epperly was charged and tried for murder! Like everyone else I’d love to hear Epperly admit what he did and why. For the famiy’s sake it’s time they know what happened to the body too. Several rumors circled including that her body had been dismembered and buried on a conctruction site at Radford University or put into a coal train hopper that off loaded at the Lynchburg Foundry. Epperly should never be paroled.
Comment by Pulaski County Resident — 4/30/2007 @ 10:25 am
I went through 4 years of high school with Stephen Epperly. He went by “Steve”. He was the meanest person I had ever met before or since. His only friends were the jocks where his brutality was revered on the football team. He was famous for taunting and striking underclassmen. He got in one fight in the parking lot where his jock buddies had to pull him off a kid half his size before he killed him. At the class reunion after the Gina Hall murder, no one doubted Epperly’s guilt. All the signs were there, just nothing the “system” could do until he crossed the line. When I heard of the Virginia Tech massacre, the thought crossed my mind that Epperly could have been capable of this. I have been unable to determine his current status with online searches. I sincerely hope that he dies behind bars without knowing a day of freedom and that prison justice causes him constant torment.
Comment by Radford Resident — 6/10/2007 @ 12:50 pm
I went to school with Gina at Coeburn High School. Gina was not only beautiful and full of spirit, but she was so very kind. I played tennis with her. In 1978, the Coeburn Girl’s Tennis Team was #1 in the state, thanks to Gina and her Lady Elite tennis racket, which she let me play with several times. Gina was adored by all of her school mates. Gina will always be in our hearts and her family in our prayers (Coeburn High School teammates and school mates). How could anyone have be mean to Gina? “I sincerely hope that he dies behind bars without knowing a day of freedom and that prison justice causes him constant torment” comment from the Radford Resident that I totally agree with about Epperly. Gina will always live in our hearts. Whoever put this information on the web, Thank you. I have looked for years on the web for her and recognition of her life. I send my love for Gina to her parents and sister. Please don’t ever let Epperly out of prison.
Comment by School Mate — 8/16/2007 @ 5:20 pm
I prosecuted Epperly and, yes, he is still in prison where he belongs. Just a few days ago, an article in the newspaper stated that his recent parole request had again been denied and further consideration deferred for another three years. Fantastic!! I never had any doubt about his guilt during the investigation and still don’t today. I’ve written to the parole board several times with the same argument: it should parole someone if he or she is rehabilitated, and if Epperly refuses to tell what he did with Gina’ body, then he’s not rehabilitated.
As I argued at trial, I’m confident that Gina rebuffed his advances and that infuriated him, so he beat her to death. She was trapped in a large home with no one else present and I believe that she attempted to run from him, but, unfortunately, ran through a door into a utility room that didn’t permit her escape, when she probably thought the door would take her outside.
Of course, I didn’t know Gina, but I never heard an unkind word said about her and I appreciate all who have added comments that provide additional knowledge about this wonderful human being. I also wish to thank the person who created this website, which just came to my attention today. It’s a pleasure to know it’s here.
Finally, I’ve been asked a million times what I think Epperly did with her body, but I honestly have no idea. The one rumor that I tend to reject out-of-hand is the one that she’s buried under the Dedmond Center at Radford University, which was under construction at the time. For various reasons, I just don’t think that’s plausible.
Comment by Everett P. Shockley — 11/6/2007 @ 6:03 pm
Steve Epperly lived in Richmond before he moved to the Blacksburg area. He worked at a car dealership and I worked at a bank that did business with them and that’s how I got to know him. I went out with him once and found him to be extremely strange, weird, scary, on the edge - you name it. He brought along an older male friend that he had not mentioned bringing - we ate pizza and then went back to his apartment. I felt very intimidated by him and he pushed for sex - because of this intimidation I slept with him and he then asked me to sleep with his friend - he asked in such a way that scared me and I gave into it - when it was over he asked me if I could get some boxes the next day for him because he was moving to the Blacksburg area and I said yes and then left - feeling awful, but, feeling like I didn’t have a choice but to do what I did which made me feel even worse about myself. I knew as soon as I heard about Gina Hall that he was guilty. I truly believe that had I not given in to him that night for either him or his friend I would be exactly where she is right now. I am so sorry for her and for her family and hope that someday she will be recovered. I’ve never told anyone about this story because I was ashamed and embarrassed - even after I knew he had killed someone. He should NEVER be released from prison - he’s a sick individual and from what I’ve read here he always has been. I’m surprised he wasn’t in prison for something else long before this - that’s unfortunate that he wasn’t.
Comment by L. Hewlett — 11/9/2007 @ 9:39 pm
I knew Steve at VT. We also went bar-hopping while he lived in Richmond. I found him to be a decent guy…obviously a lousy image. I remember that during the trial it was said that he was suspected of being a peeping tom in Blacksburg. My apartment was in Draper’s Meadow West, which was the same complex where the alleged peeping tom was. I always wondered if his visits to my apartment weren’t actually an effort by him to hide form the police looking for the creep that was peeping.
I suspect they were.
Comment by M Faris — 11/14/2007 @ 4:02 pm
To L. Hewlett:
Thanks for sharing the ordeal that you experienced. You didn’t mention the year in which this occurred, but know that the state tried to put him away for two reported rapes that occurred in 1976. Both cases were prosecuted in Montgomery County, Virginia. In one the jury found him not guilty and in the other the judge dismissed the charge for some reason . In the latter case, I think it was probably because the complaining witness had had consensual intercourse with him twice previously. However, when you go screaming to your neighbor’s apartment with baby in arms and nothing on below the waist, that would tend to indicate you didn’t consent the third time, wouldn’t you say?
Yes, be glad you did what you did. You may have lived, but I’m sure your memories today would be much more painful.
Comment by Everett P. Shockley — 11/24/2007 @ 9:23 am
To Everett Shockley:
I’m not at all surprised about the rape charges. If the judge had not dismissed those charges then things might be a lot different for the Hall family (and for many others). My ordeal with him occurred in early spring of either 1979 or 1980 - it was shortly before he was supposed to move to the Blacksburg area. I was only 19 (or 20) at the time and very naive. Ever since this happened I have often tried to think of ways and things that I possibly could have done to leave the situation, but, I now know for sure that I did the right thing - no matter how awful it made me feel at the time & for years afterward. Someone mentioned on this website about the smerk he had on his face throughout the trial - I remember he had that look when I knew him, but, he also had this wildness or crazed look in his eyes too. I knew right after my encounter that there was something seriously wrong with him. If anything I have said here would ever possibly help in keeping him in prison I would be more than happy to do whatever I could. I’ll say it again - he’s a sick individual and should NEVER be released.
Comment by L. Hewlett — 12/10/2007 @ 2:36 pm
I was in the eighth grade in Montgomery County when this all happened. I have been out of the area for years, but recently a terrible crime in my area brought me back to this case. I still shiver when I think about it and hope one day she will be found. I thank God for Everett Shockley, but I believed then, and still believe that she is indeed buried under the Dedmon Center. When I attended VT, I too, frequented the Marriot in Blacksburg. Whenever I was approached by a stranger, I was extremely cautious. I never left with someone I did not know, and I believe what happened to Gina played a part in my decisions. I want her family to know that although she is gone, I believe that she is somehow helping other women. God bless all of you.
Comment by R.L. — 1/7/2008 @ 1:39 pm
I knew “Epp” as we called him back then. This was in 1970 and ‘71. I lived in Pulaski and we used to go to Radford to hang out. I met Epp there at the beer store just below the campus ( you could buy beer at age 18 at that store). After that, I’d see him several times on our forays in to Radford. Somehow, we ended up at Ferrum College together in the fall of ‘71. I suppose with that being my first time away from home any familiar face was welcomed. We became friends and on several weekends I stayed with Epp at his parents house several blocks from the police station.
I’ve seen him in action…and it wasn’t pretty. After drinking, he was pretty much a madman on a mission. His mission was to constantly add a notch to his bedpost. All of the force he used on the football field was much like he used in those ’social situations’.
I am sure he did it. I am also sure he is where he needs to be. I am further sure he should NEVER get out.
Comment by R. Thornhill — 1/19/2008 @ 12:27 pm
www.justiceforus.org, click “newsletters” scroll to: suicide win mcgregor, tx?
Comment by cynthia robinson — 2/4/2008 @ 1:09 am
I am a Montgomery Co native and remember this well. I also had him as a substitute teacher in Middle School. He was very creepy and such a jerk. I remember getting a really weird “vibe” from him. I know members of his family that say he was always strange. Some remember him being very mean and cruel to animals when he was very young, and I know this is a symptom of a psychopath. I have also wondered what became of the body. I have heard that she is in Claytor Lake, the concrete floor of the Dedmond Center and even where the old St Albans Hospital use to be– they were doing some type of work there at the time? I have always gotten a strange feeling when I am Wildwood Park in Radford, though. Mr Shockley, if you are still reading the posts, did the dogs ever track up into the park?
Comment by teresa — 10/8/2008 @ 8:38 pm
That summer I was a student at Radford College and I lived in a house on Norwood St(609), across the street from and east of the Canton.My room mates and I could look right down on the Dedmon Center while it was under construction and it was an eerie feeling. We spent many hours down there anyway going to party at the old trestle and we always kept an eye out. I agree with the other opinions of Epperly. Bill King and he came to my house one afternoon. It was shortly before the incident.They came by because Bill and I shared a great liking for VW beetles. We spent about an hour outside looking at my car. After they left, I distinctly remember my room mates asking me “How do you know that guy?” None of the four of us had ever met him and we were ALL creeped out by him! Those guys never even talked to him and they felt weird.I remember distinctly the comment by one of them: “That boy just aint right” We decided he would not be welcomed back and it was worrisome because Epperly was an imposing figure. I’ve always felt for Bill King, as he was a really nice guy and very well thought of by everyone. He, as well as his Mom and Step dad were deeply troubled by this tragedy. Years later by chance I had a working relationship with his Step dad and am the better for it. A great guy, but this thing really got to him. Epperly was a bad, bad man who had a terrible effect on a lot of lives. I really have carried Gina Hall’s memory with me all these years. I think it must be because she was never found and it was so close to home, the beautiful town of Radford. I want to thank Mr Shockley and the Radford Police Department for a job well done.
Comment by John Bennett — 11/24/2008 @ 3:10 pm
I was fascinated and again sickened to read this whole story all over again. I grew up in Radford, and knew Steve at church from the time we were very young. He was a bad kid early on, and seemed to get more or less normal in high school. Boy, was I fooled! I’m so glad he’s behind bars, wish he’d been there for earlier crimes, to save Gina’s life. How many lives did he touch in an awful and tragic way? Kudos to Shockley and RPD, State Police, everybody involved. I pray that one day Gina’s parents will at least have remains to bury and close that awful mystery part of the story! I also have sympathy for Steve’s family, as they are good, decent people who did not deserve his brutality and sickness, either!
Comment by RS — 3/26/2009 @ 6:57 pm
Mr. Shockley, thank you for your dedication and hard work in the case of this precious young lady. Can you offer any insights into the origin of Epperly’s mental state? Comments seem to indicate a troubled child, youth and adult. Is he receiving therapy for such illness while incarcerated? I attended undergrad with Gina’s sister, Dlana and had recently graduated when Gina went missing. My heart still aches for Dlana, her family and those left behind to grieve. Again, I thank you so much for bringing justice in a seemingly impossible situation.
Comment by EM, Midland, VA — 4/14/2009 @ 5:07 pm
John Preston had no credentials and framed many innocent people nationwide; three men in Florida’s 18th Judicial Circuit alone have gotten out from under his lies (Juan Ramos ‘87, Wilton Dedge ‘04, William Dillon ‘08), and so have many others in other states, including Dale Sutton in an Ohio federal case. Please see Innocence Project of Florida’s website [http://www.floridainnocence.org/] and their YouTube video showing Geraldo Rivera discrediting Preston on ABC’s “20/20″ in 1984 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwF94oXsnvc]. Please consider updating the information about Preston in your story. Thank you.
Comment by Susan Chandler — 6/12/2009 @ 7:39 pm
With regard to Susan Chandler’s comments on June 12, 2009, I’m aware that Preston’s credibility has come under fire for a number of years, and perhaps justifiably. However, in prosecuting Epperly, I certainly had no indication that Preston fabricated anything when the dog reportedly tracked a scent to Epperly’s house. Regardless, and to put the importance of Preston’s testimony in perspective, some of you may recall the television show, “That’s Incredible.” The producer contacted me in 1982, wanting to do a segment on this case. Mind you, they were interested in what the dog did, not the fact that Epperly had been convicted of murder without a body. They sent a film crew from California to Virginia in May of that year and they spent an entire day in the hot sun filming a reenactment of the dog tracking the scent. In addition, however, the director wanted me to contact members of the jury so they could be interviewed to verify how valuable the dog evidence was in determining Epperly’s guilt. I believe I contacted all 12 jurors, but without exception, they told me that the dog evidence didn’t affect their decision. Because the director couldn’t get the jurors to say what he wanted them to, the company decided that the segment they filmed wasn’t impressive enough to air and it never did. In this particular case, at least, the other circumstantial evidence pointed directly and overwhelmingly to Epperly as Gina’s murderer. Remember, that after several days of trial, the jury was out only 2 hours before it returned a verdict, which, in addition to finding him guilty of first degree murder, fixed his punishment at life imprisonment. I have no doubt that Epperly murdered Gina Hall and his conviction cannot be assailed, even if we assume for purposes of discussion that John Preston was less than honest when he testified.
Comment by Everett Shockley — 8/1/2009 @ 9:55 pm
A good friend of mine from high school days in Radford was one of Epperly’s rape victims. She never reported it to the authorities. He was a bully and fancied himself a ladies’ man but was notorious for going into a rage when his sexual advances were resisted. Sick, sick piece of scum who deserves to die a horrible slow death.
Comment by Anonymous — 10/31/2009 @ 9:06 pm
Wow! I went to Ferrum and was a teamate of Epperly. I’ve followed the story. After reading this, I’m even more convinced that he had to have done the murder. I, at one time, came across Epperly as he was beginning a fight with a student on campus. I jumped inbetween him and the student and held him off while the student ran away. I’ve always remembered that he had a crazied look on his face as I bearhugged him as the student ran away. I also remember him being almost as a preditor of girls as a “notch” like R. Thornhill wrote. I think he must have been a bad seed.
I’m so sorry for Gina, her family and all that were shaken by Epperly. He needs to be kept away from society. He can’t cope.
Comment by B — 12/14/2009 @ 11:24 pm
I am from Southwest Virginia, and although I never met Gina or her family, I truly feel so badly for them. A young woman should be able to enjoy life, without evil people trying to end that life. I wish, with all my heart, that they could have some closure. However, as evil as Stephen Epperly is, I don’t think he’ll ever have enough decency to give them that. I know he’ll burn in Hell!!!
Comment by Velma L. — 1/25/2010 @ 4:49 pm
I grew up near Steve and I lived next door to Gina and Dlana when Gina went missing. I had 2 small daughters of my own. I will never forget realizing it was my neighbor who was missing and I knew who did it or her friends and family who were there for days looking for her. Years later I worked in one of the prisons he was spending time in. He tried to talk to me but I had nothing to say to him. He had quite a bit of trouble while he was there I am happy to say several altercations. I saw and heard for myself things he said and did while he was there. He is sick he has no regard for females. I truly believe if he ever gets out he will do it again. He should never be allowed out of prison I think some of the other inmates would miss beating up on him. AHH some justice.If he relly thinks of himself as a big bad ass he should tell where she is until he does he should rot where he is.I think about her everytime I pass Bergen Pines or the house on the lake. I see his sister pretty often I have to wonder how she feels and if she grew up in his hell.
Comment by anon — 3/23/2010 @ 9:43 pm
Is it true that the actual transcript of his trial is missing?
Comment by mrs b — 3/31/2010 @ 11:45 pm
Was Adams Cave near Bisset Park ever checked out?
Comment by Edna S — 7/3/2010 @ 1:28 am
There used to be a magazine called “Detective” that had a long article on this tragic story. Does anyone remember this magazine or have a saved copy? It would be great to scan and add it to this forum.
Mr. Shockley, I appreciate your comments, however, drop the lawyer cape (for a minute) and answer; what is YOUR theory of what happened to Gina? What’s your strongest hypothesis of what happened that night and how Epperly disposed of Gina? No deigning you must have your hunches and I’d like to hear YOUR’s.
Also Mr. Shockley, I had a friend who’s father was on the Pulaski Sheriff’s department at the time, who told him there was additional physical evidence found at the King house that wasn’t revealed to the public such as the tip of a finger and blood stains on a mattock. Is that true? I’m aware that people tend to embellish, so it’s very possible this was an attempt just to further sensationalize.
How old is Epperly now? Has he ever been offered a deal for parole in exchange for details to the location of her remains?
It’s strikes me ironic (30 years later) that if Epperly would have admitted that he accidentally killed her, that she resisted his advances, threatened to charge him with rape, he panicked and physically assaulted her, and while she was trying to escape, he asphyxiated or struck her in a way that she died, but expressed remorse for a situation that got out of hand, it’s possible he could be out of prison right now. Instead the stupid butt-hole remains unrepentive and deigns his crime and thus remains incarcerated for what likely will be the rest of his life.
It hasn’t been said much on this forum, but I hope Gina has found all the peace and kindness in heaven she was deigned the last minutes of her life. I didn’t know her, yet she was a part of our community and didn’t deserve this to happen.
I wish peace and love to the family she left behind. I hope the candidness of the facts of this case (this forum) do not offend you, and if they do, my sincerest apology. I think everyone here would agree, sharing information like this keeps it on everyone’s conscious and possibly might lead to clues that might lead to finding Gina and united her and her family.
And to Stephen Epperly, what else can be said except you’re a coward and murderer. I’m a gentle and compassionate person and wish I could show mercy for you. Yet until you search your soul and show mercy for Gina and her family, by admitting your crime and repent, you deserve all the pain you’ve inflicted on others. I hope God can give you mercy on your final judgment day that I cannot.
Comment by Anonymous — 7/6/2010 @ 6:44 pm
This is an excellent review of evidence with information not provided in other on-line documents.
http://vlex.com/vid/stephen-epperly-booker-commonwealth-37559039
Comment by Anonymous — 7/7/2010 @ 12:16 pm
I heard about this crime over 20 years ago. Last night I decided to research the crime of murder with no body committed by a guy named Steve. It took only a few minutes to find everything about the case. This summary was excellent, and to see the comments still being posted to fondly remember Gina Hall reminds us that most people are truly good. As to Preston, the K-9 handler, he gained incredible fame which probably led to his ego destroying his credibility. I believe for this case, he and especially his K-9 really did an honest and incredibly good job. As to Epperly, I looked him up on inmate locator for Virginia. He is in Bland Correctional Institute, a low-level low risk corrections farm prison in the Mtns of VA. I was curious as to whether anyone knows if he played football for VT in the 70s, as he was living in the dorm for jocks. Hopefully he will never be released while he is still able to physically harm anyone. It is tragic that he never told anyone where he put her body, but there will be a day of reckoning. Maybe one day she will be returned to her family. I’m sure she is with the angels keeping watch over her loved ones. My prayers are with her family.
Comment by chaseflamz — 7/16/2010 @ 9:12 pm
Can anyone add a photo of Stephen Epperly?
Comment by Siru — 8/13/2010 @ 3:53 am
I have been fascinated with this case since I was four years old and my volunteer firefighter/rescue squad dad was busy dragging Claytor Lake and New River. The magazine comment #33 refers to is “Front Page Detective” from August 1981. My grandmother had a copy, it is now mine. I have it scanned and saved as a PDF file. I don’t know how I could add it to the page, put will be happy to email it to anyone interested. There is one photo of Epperly in the article, he is being escorted out of court.
I cannot help but wonder what he did with her. For her family’s sake, I hope someday her remains are found.
Comment by Dedmon Center Employee — 8/19/2010 @ 1:12 pm