John Michael Gomez, 30, was found dead along Carson Road near Mason, West Virginia, on March 8, 2022, after a UPS driver discovered his body in a ditch near the 600 block. An autopsy determined he died from a non-contact gunshot wound; reports also noted abrasions to his face. Investigators learned Gomez had been picked up that day in a Jeep Cherokee by Bobby Lee Wolford of Cleveland, Ohio, and Rikki Parsons-Wise of Racine, Ohio, after communicating with Parsons-Wise about a marijuana transaction.

Prosecutors say the meeting was part of a planned robbery and that Wolford shot Gomez, then removed his body from the vehicle and left it on Carson Road. Parsons-Wise testified Wolford wanted to hit a lick and identified Gomez as the target; forensic testing found Gomez’s blood inside the Jeep. The vehicle was later located in Cleveland, where officers observed blood in the backseat and Wolford was arrested; Parsons-Wise was extradited to West Virginia.

A Mason County grand jury indicted Wolford and Parsons-Wise in January 2023; Parsons-Wise pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and concealment of a deceased human body and agreed to testify against Wolford. Wolford was convicted at trial of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and concealment of a deceased human body and sentenced to life without mercy plus additional consecutive terms. Did anyone who knew Gomez or saw him in Mason County around March 8, 2022, notice anything that could help fill gaps in the timeline?