Widow of Mingo sheriff seeks $1M from alleged murderer

WILLIAMSON – The widow of the former Mingo County sheriff has filed a lawsuit against the man accused of killing him.

Rosanna S. Crum filed her lawsuit against Tennis Maynard earlier this month in Mingo Circuit Court. Maynard is the man who shot and killed Sheriff Eugene Crum on April 3, 2013, in Williamson.

In her complaint, filed April 2, Crum says Maynard is under court-ordered medical confinement by the state pursuant to criminal proceedings against him.

She says Maynard killer her husband with a gunshot wound to his head, an act she says was "committed with malice aforethought" and that "amounted to death by a wrongful act."

Crum was in surveillance of a location suspected to be a site of illegal drug activity, and she claims Maynard "was actively engaged with others in the community in illegal drug activity."

In addition to the sorrow and mental anguish her family has suffered, Crum says her family has lost income as well as services, protection, care and assistance her late husband would have provided.

She also mentions "funeral expenses that were even costlier than normal because of (unfulfilled) promises made to her by local county officials and the funeral home taking advantage of these false promises to increase costs then later holding her responsible for payment."

She filed a separate lawsuit about the funeral costs.

Crum seeks $1 million in compensation for the wrongful death of her husband as well as punitive damages. She also seeks pre- and post-judgment interest.

Earlier this year, a judge found Maynard mentally incompentent to stand trial. He instead was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in Sharpe Mental Hospital near Weston.

As with her funeral costs lawsuit, she is being represented by South Charleston attorney Richie Robb. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Miki Thompson.

Mingo Circuit Court case number: 15-C-67