An affidavit in connection with a West Virginia man arrested for the death of his girlfriend’s 15-year-old daughter, Riley Crossman, provides grim details on how he allegedly changed his story multiple times, which placed him as “a suspect since day one.”
The Journal reports that Andy Jackson McCauley Jr., 41, was arraigned in court Thursday on murder charges after his girlfriend’s daughter, Riley, was found deceased last Thursday morning in rural area in Berkeley County, close to Tuscarora Pike. Police said her body was decomposing.
According to court documents, cadaver dogs found evidence of human decomposition in the bed of the truck McCauley took from his work site. Further, investigators found drywall mud on the victim’s shoulder and foot that matched drywall mud in the back of the work truck.
McCauley initially told authorities he traveled to a construction job on May 8, near Ridge Road South in Hedgesville. According to police, however, an original report indicated McCauley didn’t have permission and wasn’t listed that day as leaving his job site to work at another site. McCauley doesn’t even have a driver’s license, according to Wusa9.
The suspect later changed his story and said he went to buy cocaine, but he couldn’t provide detectives with the names of the dealers or the location where he bought the drugs from. Police later determined the story was likely false.
“It was later determined after a witness interview that McCauley had cocaine in his possession before leaving the worksite to go to his residence and would not have needed to travel back to Berkeley Springs to obtain more cocaine,” the court documents read.
At around 10 a.m. on May 8, a witness saw someone in a green Dodge 2500 work truck drive to McCauley’s residence on Greenway Drive.
JUST IN: Andy McCauley booked into Eastern Regional Jail tonight. He was arrested today for the murder of his girlfriend’s 15-year-daughter, Riley Crossman, who was missing for more than a week from Morgan County. Her body was found today in Berkeley County. pic.twitter.com/Mdn6B2piGt
— Leslie Rubin (@LeslieRubinWCHS) May 17, 2019
McCauley allegedly admitted to police that he did drive to his home on May 8, but only to shoot himself up with drugs. He said he was only there for around 15 to 30 minutes before leaving. Yet, McCauley previously told authorities that he never shot himself up with drugs, but he instead sniffed cocaine, according to court documents.
McCauley also said he left home and traveled down W.Va. 9, but authorities pointed out that video surveillance would have captured him driving along the route, which it did not.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Sheriff K.C. Bohrer of the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department said that officers from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources found Riley’s body “over an embankment in a rural mountain road section.”
McCauley had been under surveillance for numerous days prior to his arrest and was considered a suspect from the beginning.
Riley has been described as a “sweetheart” who was caring toward other students. She attended school at Berkeley Springs High School.
CrimeOnline spoke to Tara Smith, the mother of Riley’s best friend. Riley often spent nights at Smith’s house. Smith said her daughter’s best friend as “always smiling and cheerful.”
“She was in a dance group, so of course she loved to dance and sing, spend time with her friends and her boyfriend Hayden, laughing and hanging out in the park during the summer. The girls loved to hang out at the local pool, and going to the movies. Riley had a beautiful smile that could light a room and she was always there for her friends when they needed her”
“Rest easy princess. You’ll be greatly missed but never forgotten!”
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Riley Crossman/Handout]
