Sharon Crawford, a 51-year-old White/Caucasian female, was killed on March 21, 2024, in Huntington, West Virginia, in what police later described as a double murder-suicide rooted in a domestic relationship. The violence unfolded Thursday evening at a residence in the 2700 block of North Staunton Road, where Huntington police and SWAT officers responded after reports of a shooting shortly after 5:30 p.m.
Inside that ordinary residential setting, investigators said Sharon was shot along with 26-year-old Alexis Beard, who was identified in reports as Sharon's daughter. A 20-month-old baby girl was also injured in the incident, adding another devastating layer to the tragedy.
Authorities identified Sharon's husband, 52-year-old Clyde Crawford of Huntington, as the suspect. Police said Sharon was one of the women fatally shot during the attack, while Alexis Beard was also shot and later died after being taken to Cabell Huntington Hospital. Early reporting indicated that one victim died at the scene and the second died at the hospital. The young child survived with injuries that were described as non-life-threatening and was reported to be in stable condition at a local hospital. Neighbors were shaken by the violence, describing the area as a place where people may have experienced small incidents before, but nothing like a deadly shooting so close to home.
After the shooting, police began searching for Clyde Crawford, who was wanted in connection with the deaths of Sharon Crawford and Alexis Beard and the injury to the child. Multiple agencies assisted Huntington police during the search and investigation, including West Virginia State Police, the Cabell County Sheriff's Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and West Virginia Division of Corrections Probation and Parole. The search came to an end the following afternoon when Crawford was found dead along the banks of the Ohio River near McClelland Park. Authorities said he died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Because Clyde Crawford was found dead, there were no arrests, trial, or conviction in the case. Police continued to investigate the circumstances as a double murder-suicide, with Huntington Police Chief Phil Watkins noting that the known relationship between Sharon and Clyde made the case domestic in nature. In the end, Sharon Crawford's death was part of a sudden and devastating act of violence that also took the life of her daughter, wounded a very young child, and left no living suspect to face prosecution in court.
