Shawn Turak, Ohio County Prosecuting Attorney, releases the following statement:
On April 17, 2026, Ohio County Circuit Court Judge David Sims sentenced both Christopher and Sara Riley to prison for not less than one nor more than five years for the conviction for “Concealment of a Deceased Human Body”.
Andrew Downs, the decedent, died on June 15, 2021. A missing persons report was made to a local police agency in Ohio in early July, 2021. During that missing persons investigation, the Rileys both lied to Downs’ family and authorities were told that Andrew Downs overdosed in West Virginia, was revived and thereafter went to Columbus, Ohio where he went missing.
In early January, 2023, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office received a tip from the White Hall Police Department that it had learned the location of Andrew Downs’ burial to be at 316 Leopold Lane, Ohio County, West Virginia.
On January 4, 2023 a team consisting of law enforcement officials from the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office, the West Virginia State Police, cadaver dogs procured from Tyler County and officials from the West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was dispatched to the location. On January 5, 2023, following overnight continuous surveillance, a body was exhumed from the wooded area associated with that Leopold Lane address.
Thereafter, with the assistance of the Medical Examiner’s Office, the University of Tennessee Anthropology Department and the Marshall University Forensic Science Center, in 2025, the decedent’s identity was confirmed to be Andrew Downs. Cause of death and manner of death were unable to be determined.
Christopher and Sara Riley entered guilty pleas to Concealment of a Deceased Human Body in January, 2026 and were unsuccessful today at sentencing in their request for probation or a non-incarceration sentence. Prosecuting Attorney Shawn R. Turak stated:
“Their crimes were particularly shocking and cruel. The family of Andrew Downs waited in silence for 2 years before a body was even discovered. Then it took an additional two years to piece the remains back together with the assistance of the Anthropology Department at University of Tennessee and confirm through parentage DNA testing at Marshall University that it was Andrew Downs. While we believe that Andrew died of a drug overdose, we really can’t even confirm that.
“The toll on this family – with the unknown and waiting for so long which was the direct result of the Rileys cruelly burying the body and lying to authorities – it is truly horrifying,” the prosecutor continued. “The State urged the Court to sentence them to prison which is where they belong. We are grateful that the Court agreed and sent them to prison today. I only wish the crime carried more time because they deserve it. I thank not only Ohio County Sheriff’s Department for the stellar investigation, but also the West Virginia State Police and White Hall Police Department in Ohio for finally bringing this family closure.”
