Nine months later, Charles Echols' family not giving up fight for justice

May 9—FAIRMONT — Marion County Circuit Court Judge Patrick Wilson will hear a request from the family of a man who was killed last year to present the victim's case to a grand jury.

Michael Costello, an employee of North Central West Virginia Regional Jail and Corrections Facility, shot and killed Charles Echols after midnight on July 30, 2023, according to a letter sent by Marion County Prosecutor Jeff Freeman to Judge Wilson and John Kemet Shabazz, the family's advocate. Shabazz is not an attorney. The family seeks to have a grand jury hear the case and potentially bring charges against Costello.

Freeman said in previous reporting he has not filed any charges against Costello because so far, what available evidence exists appears to conform to the self defense narrative Costello provided to investigators.

"We only really have one side who can tell their story, which of course is Chacon and Costello," Precious Echols, Charles Echols's daughter said. "My dad's not here to tell his side, unfortunately."

Shabazz filed the petition to have the case heard by a grand jury on behalf of Precious Echols.

Lee Ann Chacon was in a relationship with Costello and was present the night of the killing. She had been in a relationship with Echols previously. She also worked at the North Central West Virginia Regional Jail as a nurse. She owned the house in which Costello shot Echols.

Freeman provided a narrative of events the night of July 30, 2023 in his letter to the court.

According to Freeman, Echols travelled uninvited and unannounced to Chacon's home after learning she was there with her new boyfriend, Costello. After finding the front door locked, Echols used a garage door code to enter the home. Costello shot Echols after Echols committed "felony burglary and multiple offenses of violence to the person(s) of others (both felony and misdemeanor)."

Freeman indicates Echols would have been charged with felony offenses had he lived. However, as far as bringing a case against Costello, Freeman wrote no probable cause exists to justify it. A series of 911 calls which recorded the altercation appear to sustain the narrative provided by Costello and Chacon, Freeman wrote.

Freeman hasn't closed the case yet because his office is still waiting for the Echols autopsy results from the State Medical Examiner. The report is due in late May or early June.

"However, should the examination(s) of the firearms, spent casings and spent rounds contradict the other evidence, particularly the statements of Chacon and Costello, it would be extremely suggestive of a diabolical, premeditated Conspiracy and First Degree Murder (By Lying in Wait)," Freeman wrote. "However, until and unless the testing returns such results, there is no case to present to a Grand Jury."

Freeman said the possibility of the autopsy report contradicting Costello and Chacon's narrative is unlikely.

However, family members remain skeptical.

Precious Echols, Janelle Freeman and her grandfather Gary Freeman and Shabazz discussed the matter with Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Freeman on May 3. During the conversation, the family learned Chacon and Costello both held weapons. After Costello lost a physical fight to Freeman, Chacon pointed a firearm at Echols and told him to leave. As Echols turned to leave, Costello said something that set Echols off. Echols charged Costello once more but Costello shot him.

Gary Freeman said his understanding was that Costello and Chacon both had weapons on them.

"It doesn't make any sense to me," Gary Freeman said. "If the autopsy proves Duddy got shot in the back, it's a whole different scenario. The way I feel about it, it's gonna come back showing he was shot in the back. Anyone in their right mind won't attack nobody carrying a gun. It just doesn't make sense."

Duddy is Charles Echols' nickname.

In the petition to have the case heard by a Marion County Grand Jury, Shabazz called for a special prosecutor to be appointed due to the fact that Chacon and Costello are both employees of the North Central Regional Jail.

"Simply put, because Chacon and Costello are part of the law enforcement community accused of killing a Blackman," Shabazz wrote. "The police and legal community could legitimatize as practical a 'defacto' narrative, and obfucscate actual facts that are dejure."

Further, the petition states that "at least one family member of Charles Echols III reported that, 'when the Whitehall Police arrived at the scene before the Marion County Sherriff's Department, they reportedly said it was murder.'"

Shabazz also argued in an email that lethal force was not justified in the killing of Echols. Even if the altercation narrative is what happened, Shabazz said disproportionate deadly force was used to subdue an unarmed man.

Shabazz was also critical of Jeff Freeman's assertion that Echols would have been classified a burglar, calling it a lie to "justify the use of deadly force upon a felon." Gary Freeman concurred with this sentiment, saying Echols wasn't there to steal anything from the Chacon household.

However, Freeman most likely applied the legal definition of burglary in his analysis. Under West Virginia Code, burglary is defined as any person who breaks and enters, enters without breaking, a dwelling with the intent to commit a violation of the criminal laws of the state. The law leaves the definition of what constitutes a violation broad, meaning it can include activities other than theft.

It also appears Echols at one point in the fight choked Costello out, according to Gary Freeman. This could complicate Shabazz's argument about the proportionate use of force in front of a judge.

However, what underlines the need for a jury to hear the case, according to Shabazz, is that Costello admits shooting Echols in Freeman's narrative. Shabazz argued this admission alone was enough grounds for an arrest and potential trial.

The family is working to secure legal representation to pursue their case. A petition seeking justice for Echols posted last October now has 442 signatures.

The hearing to decide whether or not the case moves to a grand jury takes place May 22 at 9 a.m. in Judge Wilson's courtroom. The state's legal arguments aside, the one who feels the impact of her father's killing the most is not satisfied with how the case has been handled by the justice system. Precious Echols expressed frustration that Costello faced no accountability for killing her father. He and Chacon are free to live their lives while her father rests in the ground.

"I just don't understand how you can kill someone and no one gets arrested," Precious Echols said. "How a person can just, you can go out and shoot someone and I guess they just take your word for it."

Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com