Kaiden Lee Harold Stull, an 11-year-old White / Caucasian male from Durbin, West Virginia, died on Thursday, November 24, 2022, while hunting on his family's farm in Pocahontas County. What should have been a Thanksgiving spent with family turned into a devastating loss in the mountain community where Kaiden was known as a son, grandson, nephew, cousin, student and friend. He had been born in Elkins on February 18, 2011, and was remembered as a boy who loved the outdoors, hunting, fishing, riding dirt bikes, music, gaming, and spending time with the people closest to him.
The shooting happened during a hunting trip near Bear Mountain Road in the Bartow area of Pocahontas County. Early public reports described Kaiden's death as a hunting accident, and his obituary stated that he died while hunting on the family farm. The tragedy struck especially hard because Kaiden was still a child, and because the activity that brought him outdoors that day was something he loved.
His family later directed memorial contributions toward a hunter safety fund established in his honor, a reflection of the way his death became tied not only to grief, but also to the hope that other children and families might be protected in the future.
As the investigation moved forward, authorities alleged that the shooting was not simply an unavoidable accident. Court records later identified John M. Stull, Kaiden's father, as the person charged in connection with the death. A Pocahontas County indictment accused him of carelessly and negligently shooting and killing another person while hunting in November 2022. He was indicted on charges including negligent shooting and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Court documents also noted that he had a prior conviction for manufacturing a controlled substance in February 2021, which was part of the basis for the firearm-related charge.
The case continued through Pocahontas County Circuit Court. In 2024, John Stull, listed as being from Bartow, pleaded guilty to prohibited person in possession of a firearm and negligent shooting, both identified in court reporting as misdemeanor offenses. The court delayed final adjudication of the pleas so additional information could be added to the presentence investigation report, and a substance abuse evaluation was ordered. Later court listings and booking information showed the charges connected to negligently killing a human while hunting and firearm possession as convictions, along with later home confinement-related proceedings.
No separate unknown suspect was publicly identified in the online sources reviewed. The available reporting points to John M. Stull as the person charged and later convicted in connection with Kaiden's death. The case began as a heartbreaking Thanksgiving hunting fatality in rural Pocahontas County, but it became a criminal matter after prosecutors alleged negligence and unlawful firearm possession. At its center remained Kaiden Stull, a young boy remembered for his love of the outdoors, whose life ended on the same land where he had gone hunting with family.
