James Clifton Bailey, a 41-year-old White/Caucasian male from Walker, West Virginia, was found dead on May 19, 2024, inside a single-story home on Morgan Ridge Road after firefighters were called to a house fire in Wood County. The fire had partially engulfed the residence, and crews from local fire departments responded to bring the blaze under control. When firefighters were able to get inside, they discovered Bailey and Felicia Jean Goff deceased in the home.
What first appeared to be a deadly house fire quickly turned into a criminal investigation when authorities determined the two victims had died before the fire was set.
Investigators later concluded that Bailey and Goff had suffered gunshot wounds before the residence was intentionally set on fire. The fire was treated as an attempt to cover up what had happened inside the home. Bailey and Goff were described as Walker residents, and the house where they were found was identified as their Morgan Ridge Road home. In the days after the fire, the Wood County Sheriff's Office and fire investigators worked the scene and developed information that pointed to a suspect who knew the victims.
Bradley Joseph Cantwell of Walker became the focus of the investigation. Authorities said Cantwell, Bailey and Goff were acquaintances, and later court information indicated Cantwell had sometimes stayed with the couple. Investigators alleged there had been conflict shortly before the killings, including an argument in which Bailey and Goff accused Cantwell of stealing from them. A relative reportedly said Cantwell had been told to leave the residence and not return, and prosecutors later said Cantwell allegedly indicated he would come back and “get them.”
By late May 2024, Cantwell was wanted on two counts of first-degree murder and was considered armed and dangerous. Authorities said he was believed to have killed Bailey and Goff before the home went up in flames. A reward was offered for information leading to his arrest and conviction, and residents were warned not to approach him. Cantwell was later taken into custody and held without bond in connection with the double homicide.
In January 2025, a Wood County grand jury indicted Cantwell on two counts of murder, first-degree arson, two counts of concealment of a deceased human body and petit larceny. Court filings and later reports described evidence that placed him at the victims' home around the time of the incident, including witness accounts that he had been seen near the residence before the fire was reported and had made statements suggesting he expected to go to jail for a long time. Prosecutors also said investigators later found what they believed to be the firearm used in the killings hidden in a fallen tree in nearby woods.
In April 2026, Cantwell entered a Kennedy/Alford plea in Wood County Circuit Court to two counts of second-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Bailey and Goff. Through that plea, he did not formally admit guilt but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. Under the agreement, the state agreed to dismiss the remaining charges from the indictment, including the arson, concealment and petit larceny charges. Each second-degree murder count carried a possible sentence of 10 to 40 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for July 6, 2026.
