Detective S.A. Semones escorts Michael Wayne Leadmon, 22, of Parkersburg, out of Wood County Magistrate Court following arraignment Tuesday. (Photo by Madeline Scarborough)

PARKERSBURG — Parkersburg Police took Michael Wayne Leadmon, 22, of Parkersburg, into custody on a murder charge Tuesday morning, Police Chief Joe Martin said.

Leadmon was arraigned on one count of murder before Wood County Magistrate Jody Purkey just before 4 p.m. Because the charge carries the possibility of life in prison, bond will be set in Wood County Circuit Court.

Leadmon is the second person arrested in the investigation of the death of Karen Yeager, 68, who was reported missing Sunday evening after not having contact with her family for 24 hours.

Parkersburg police officers were dispatched Sunday to the residence at 3805 Broad St. in reference to a missing person (Karen Yeager) who resided at the residence.

According to Martin, officers were advised by several family members they had had no contact with Yeager and responded to her home.

From left, Detective S.A. Semones and Detective D.D. Sturm, right, with the Parkersburg Police Department stand with Michael Wayne Leadmon, 22, of Parkersburg, while he is arraigned Tuesday on a charge of murder in Wood County Magistrate Court by Magistrate Jody Purkey. Leadmon will be held without bond until a bond hearing can be scheduled with Wood County Circuit Court. (Photo by Madeline Scarborough)

“Family members found the front door to the home unlocked and went inside,” Martin said.

According to the criminal complaint, blood was observed on the door frame of the basement door and near the washing machine going into the kitchen, and Yeager’s 2018 Mitsubishi Outlander was missing.

Early Monday, police received a tip of where her car was located and found it and a 17-year-old juvenile driving the vehicle. The juvenile was arrested and taken to a secured juvenile facility.

A passenger was also taken into custody and was able to show officers where Yeager’s body was, according to the criminal complaint.

According to Martin, no charges have been filed against the passenger.

Yeager’s body was located on First Avenue beneath the Fifth Street Bridge in south Parkersburg. An autopsy by the state medical examiner ruled her cause of death as a stab wound and a secondary cause of death as strangulation, Martin said.

“The investigation reveals that Leadmon and a juvenile had broken into the home of Karen Yeager and once inside were confronted by Ms. Yeager after they tripped an alarm. During this confrontation, Ms. Yeager was struck and became unconscious. The defendants then choked her and eventually stabbed her in the neck, killing her,” said Martin.

This case remains ongoing; anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Parkersburg Police Department by phone, 304-424-8444, at pkbpolice.com or by using the department’s Facebook page.