West Virginia stripper had sex with lover's disabled son before beheading him and asking her friends to party with her
PRINCETON, WEST VIRGINIA: A West Virginia woman who was accused of decapitating her lover's son, with whom she was also having a sexual relationship, was convicted of murder and is facing life in prison.
Roena Cheryl Mills, 43, of Rural Retreat, Virginia, was arrested after authorities found Bo White, 29, dead in Lerona on April 1, 2018, according to the Register-Herald. His body was found at his home while his head was located later in a wooded area.
Mills was reportedly introduced to White, who lived off a disability allowance and loved playing with Star Wars figures, by his father James. Mills had a yearlong sexual relationship with James while working as an exotic dancer at the Southern X-Posure club.
On the night of White's death, Mills had texted him and arranged a meet-up at his home with the intent to rob him. She had sex with him and then proceeded to bludgeon him until he was unconscious, cut off his head with a kitchen knife, and stabbed him repeatedly.
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported that she had approached a man she knew, Joe Fleming, and asked him for cans of gasoline and his chainsaw. Fleming had refused to give both, which resulted in Mills turning to "cheap kitchen knives" to carry out the horrifying crime.
After killing White, she rummaged through his pockets for pills and cash and then sent a text message to friends which read, "Let's party".
During his closing arguments at Mills' trial this past week, prosecuting attorney George Sitler told the jury that the 43-year-old was a drug addict who took advantage of White, who he described as "an awkward, sickly shut-in who didn't have a real life".
Sitler said that while a proper motive had not been determined, it was suspected that she was trading pills for sexual favors. "His father had introduced him to a manipulative woman," he said, adding that Mills knew White "had a pocket full of pills and a pocket full of cash".
Mills' defense lawyer Sid Bell claimed it was White's father who killed him because he was jealous that his son had gotten so close to his lover. "Our theory is that Jimmy White was jealous of her relationship with Bo... and Jimmy White is a terrible person," he said.
He claimed his client could not be the killer because she was a drug addict, and that the wounds inflicted on White could only have been dealt by someone with "a lot of strength".
"As an old prosecutor, we call that a crime of passion," he said. "Someone with a lot of strength and a lot of rage had to kill this man."
The Mercer County jury deliberated for close to just two hours before convicting Mills of first-degree murder, which carries a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. While a jury could recommend a convict for mercy, which would make him/her eligible for parole after serving 15 years behind bars, no such recommendation was made for Mills. The 43-year-old, who was wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt with a scooped neck that showed her tattoo that reads 'Special Kinda Crazy', did not show any reaction to the verdict.