The girlfriend of a man found naked with his throat slashed in a Maryland forest was charged with murder on Thursday.
Alexander Arthur Stevens, 24, of Frostburg, was found dead earlier this year on January 4th at the Savage River State Forest in Garrett County. In March, his death was ruled a homicide.
Over eight months later, Garrett County State’s Attorney Lisa Thayer Welch announced that Megan Virginia Shaffer, 21, has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and assisting another to commit or attempt to commit suicide, The Cumberland Times-News reported.
Megan Virginia Shaffer, 21, has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and assisting another to commit or attempt to commit suicide
Shaffer told authorities they had hiked to an overlook in the forest on the night of January 3rd and had fallen from the cliff. She said she thought Stevens was dead after the 33-foot fall and left him below the cliff.
Shaffer said she walked out of the woods in the morning after having been lost all night, entered a home and used the homeowner’s phone to call 911. She was taken to a hospital with a broken shoulder and a possible broken back.
Police in Maryland named the man who was found dead in the forest as 24-year-old Alexander Stevens, seen left and right in Facebook photos
Stevens studied materials engineering and economics at Frostburg State University and civil engineering at the United States Coast Guard Academy
The next day, Stevens’ body was found on a logging road. The newspaper reported that in addition to his broken bones, his throat had been cut deeply, more than once.
Court records state Jay Stevens told police that his son had been acting differently for several years. ‘He’d grown his hair longer, was reading about religions, thinking about his place in society.’
‘I never, never, ever, ever thought that he was suicidal. I know my son. He had all these plans to do things.’
Days before his death, Stevens had opened a ‘transfer on death’ account, listing Shaffer as the beneficiary. A judge granted the request of Stevens’ father to stop the transfer of more than $188,000.
Police spotted his body from a helicopter flying over Pine Swamp Road in Garrett County
Shaffer is being held in the Garrett County Detention Center pending her initial court appearance.
Attorney Stephen R. Tully told the newspaper Thursday afternoon that he will represent Shaffer but said he hadn’t seen the charges at that point.