Beverly woman pleads guilty to strangulation

by Taylor McKinnie

ELKINS — A Beverly woman who was accused of abuse or neglect of an incapacitated adult, and financial exploitation, entered into a plea agreement Tuesday morning in Randolph County Circuit Court.

Cassie Lynn Pell, 37, pled guilty to one count of strangulation, a felony, and one count of financial exploitation of an elderly person, a misdemeanor. She could face no less than one, no more than five years in prison when sentenced for the felony charge. For the misdemeanor charge, Pell could face not more than one year in prison, and/or be fined not more than $1,000.

Pell was initially indicted in October on two counts of abuse or neglect of an incapacitated adult, a felony; one count of strangulation, a felony; and two counts of neglect of an incapacitated adult, a misdemeanor. In a separate indictment, she was indicted on one count of financial exploitation of an elderly person, and three counts of fraudulent use of an access device, all felonies.

Pell is currently being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on both a $15,000 cash-only bond and a $2,821.41 cash-only bond.

When asked by Lewis and Upshur County Circuit Court Judge Kurt Hall, who presided over the case, as to what she did that made her guilty of the strangulation charge, Pell said she had gotten into a “verbal argument” that escalated.

“We had gotten into a verbal argument and I had pushed her, and when I pushed her I grabbed her,” Pell said.

“And where did you grab her?” Hall asked.

“Around her throat,” Pell said.

Pell denied that the victim lost consciousness from the incident, but admitted that the victim did sustain a bruise.

When asked about the financial exploitation charge, Pell said she had been carrying the victim’s debit card and made an unauthorized purchase. Pell said the victim was in her 70s at the time of the incident.

Pell also admitted that alcohol had been involved in both incidents.

After Hall accepted the plea agreement, Tyler Resetter, Pell’s attorney, asked the court to modify Pell’s post conviction bond, citing that Pell had no means to pay the current amount at this time, that Pell was agreeable to any terms of supervision from the court and that Pell has attended and had been making progress in classes and schooling during her time in prison.

Randolph County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Christina Harper stated she believed that Pell’s bond was appropriately set. Harper explained to the court that the victim and the victim’s family, who wanted to avoid going to court, stated that the victim still had a fear of Pell and that the victim wanted there still be a no-contact order once Pell was out of prison.

Hall denied the motion to modify Pell’s bond.

According to a criminal complaint filed by Deputy J. Wolfe of the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, on Aug. 13, Wolfe conducted a welfare check at a home near Beverly. An elderly woman at the home told the officer that Pell had “destroyed her house,” as the living room was “in disarray with broken ceramic material littering” the floor, and that Pell “beat my head with her fist.”

Wolfe said the woman had a bump on her head “consistent with being struck,” and he also observed “containers and plates of food containing spoiled and molded meat on the living room floor,” the complaint states.

Wolfe spoke with Pell, who lives in a camper next to the home, according to the complaint. Pell said she took care of the woman full-time, adding, “We get mad, we fight” and “She hit me and I grabbed her.”

Pell allegedly took the elderly woman’s walker, cell phone and house keys from her and took them to the camper, the complaint states.

Asked to return the woman’s cellphone, Pell “attempted to take the battery out of the cell phone so she wouldn’t break it. I believe this was an intentional attempt to deprive (the elderly woman) of her means of communication,” Wolfe wrote in the complaint.

Pell also allegedly refused to give the elderly woman all of her house keys back, saying, “That’s how I get inside to make sure she don’t bust her a-,” according to the complaint. Wolfe wrote that Pell made this statement while the elderly woman’s walker was sitting outside next to her camper.

The elderly woman expressed fear of Pell, saying she had been strangled by Pell twice in previous weeks, the complaint states. At the close of her conversation with Wolfe, Pell allegedly said, “I want her to burn in hell. I’ll make sure of it.”

During a preliminary hearing at Randolph County Magistrate Court on Aug. 23, Wolfe told the court that he spoke to the victim’s neighbors who expressed concern about the victim’s safety, claiming that when they tried to approach the home in the past, Pell would chase them away with her two dogs.

Wolfe also said during the preliminary hearing he had been by the residence before for a trespassing call and that another officer had been to the house previously, though Wolfe did not know what for.

A date for Pell’s sentencing has yet to be set.

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Beverly woman pleads guilty to strangulation