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‘I killed Karen Yeager:’ McClung pleads guilty to murdering woman, concealing body

By Brett Dunlap 4 min read

PARKERSBURG -- A man charged with murder and hiding a dead body pleaded guilty to the charges Wednesday in Wood County Circuit Court in a plea agreement.

Dominick McClung, 18, in custody at the Donald R. Kuhn Juvenile Center in Boone County, pleaded guilty before Wood County Circuit Judge Jason Wharton to the first-degree murder of Karen Yeager, whose body was found under the Fifth Street Bridge in September 2019.

He also pleaded guilty to the concealment of a deceased human body.

McClung had been charged with robbery, burglary, grand larceny and conspiracy to commit a felony in the case. His pleading on Wednesday was part of a plea agreement worked up in the case. He was originally scheduled to go to trial on April 6.

Wharton reviewed McClung's rights with him before entering the plea.

In pleading guilty, McClung understood he could be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. He understood that there was no guarantee he would be granted parole after 15 years and that determination would be made by the court and the court may determine he may spend the rest of his life in prison.

The sentence for concealment of a dead human body was one to five years in prison and a fine of $1,000-$5,000.

The sentences will be served consecutively to each other.

As part of the plea agreement, McClung indicated he would provide truthful statements and testimony in other cases relating to this matter. When asked by Wharton if he is willing to do that, McClung answered, "Yes sir."

In discussing why he was pleading guilty to murder, McClung said, "I killed Karen Yeager."

He talked about how he and co-defendant Michael Leadmon were robbing Yeager's home and confronted her.

"Out of fear, he grabbed her and I stabbed her," McClung said.

In December 2019, Leadmon, 23, was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

McClung said he used a knife that he had with him at the time.

He did not know Yeager at the time and they had no reason to pick that particular home to rob.

Officials have previously said McClung and Leadmon forced their way into Yeager's Broad Street home on Sept. 2, 2019, intending to rob her to fuel their drug habits. The mother and grandmother was knocked unconscious, choked and fatally stabbed, her body found two days later beneath the Fifth Street Bridge in south Parkersburg.

McClung said he stabbed Yeager once. He said they put Yeager's body in the back of her car and took it to the bridge to conceal it.

Two other co-defendants Tyler Jenkins, 23, 808 Jackson Ave., Parkersburg, and Eric Dillon, 29, are charged with accessory after the fact to murder for allegedly helping to hide or dispose of evidence in Yeager's murder.

Under questioning by Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure, McClung said they took other items, including a shotgun, a pistol, a computer, jewelry and more. Those items ended up in the hands of other people in the community.

McClung said some of those items ended up in the possession of Jenkins. He claimed not to know who Dillon was and was not sure if Leadmon had distributed items out to others in the area. He said they explained to Jenkins how they got the firearms.

A couple days later, they retrieved the weapons from Jenkins "to get rid of evidence," McClung said.

When asked how he pleaded to the charges of murder and concealment of a deceased human body, McClung responded "Guilty."

Lefebure said Yeager's family, who were present in the courtroom, agreed that the plea agreement served the course of justice as he was pleading guilty to murder and concealing the body.

"We do believe it to be appropriate," he said.

A pre-sentencing investigation was ordered. Sentencing was set for 1 p.m. April 29 before Wharton.

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com.

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