Jessica Kelly Lively, a 35-year-old mother from Raleigh County, West Virginia, was remembered by loved ones as a creative and free-spirited woman. Known as "Jessie" to her family and friends, she had a passion for traveling and never felt the need to call just one place home. She expressed her creativity through coloring, writing poetry, and singing. Above all, Jessie was a devoted mother who loved her children dearly. Her family found comfort in her Christian faith, knowing she was at peace.
She is survived by her two children, Chloe and Liam, her mother, two sisters, and many other relatives and friends who cherished her.
On the afternoon of Monday, October 5, 2026, Jessica and a male acquaintance traveled to Parkersburg to visit a friend. They made their way to the Morris Building, an apartment complex located at 800 Seventh Street. At approximately 1:30 p.m., they knocked on the door of the apartment, but it was answered by 33-year-old Samantha Deem, not the friend they had come to see. According to police, Jessica and Deem, who knew each other, became involved in a verbal argument in the hallway.
The dispute quickly and tragically escalated. According to a criminal complaint filed in Wood County Magistrate Court, a witness stated that Jessica was holding a foot-long knife down by her side during the argument. The witness reported that Jessica remained calm and did not make any threatening statements or movements toward Deem. Deem allegedly saw the knife, told Jessica that she had a gun, and threatened to shoot her. Deem then produced a pistol and shot Jessica once in the chest.
Parkersburg Police officers were dispatched to the apartment complex at 1:32 p.m. in response to the shooting. They arrived to find Jessica lying wounded in the hallway. Emergency medical personnel from the Parkersburg Fire Department and Camden Clark Ambulance Service attempted life-saving measures, but her injury was fatal. Jessica Lively was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives from the Parkersburg Police Department immediately began an investigation, spending the evening interviewing witnesses who identified Samantha Deem as the shooter. Later that day, Deem turned herself in to the police and was arrested. She was charged with first-degree murder and taken to the Wood County Holding Facility. Police assured the public that there was no ongoing threat.
Due to murder being a capital offense in West Virginia, bond could not be set at Deem's initial arraignment in magistrate court. She later appeared before a Wood County Circuit Court judge, who granted the state's motion for no bond, ordering her to be held at the North Central Regional Jail pending court proceedings. The case against Samantha Deem was set to move through the West Virginia court system as of October 2026.
In the wake of her death, Jessica's family planned a memorial service to celebrate her life on November 14, 2026, at the Soldier's Memorial Theatre in Beckley. They remembered her as a beloved mother, daughter, and sister whose memory would remain with them forever. The Parkersburg Police Department thanked the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, West Virginia State Police, and local fire and ambulance services for their assistance in the investigation. Authorities asked anyone with further information about the shooting to contact Detective D.W. Eichhorn II at 304-424-8539.
