On October 28, 2021, the life of Paul Wesley Matheny, a 41-year-old Caucasian male from Leon, West Virginia, was tragically cut short. His body was discovered in the bed of a pickup truck with Ohio license plates in the 6000 block of Gill Ridge Road in Mason County by a utility worker who promptly called 911. The Mason County Sheriff's Office, aided by the West Virginia State Police, immediately began a homicide investigation. An autopsy later revealed that Matheny had died from a gunshot wound to the skull.
The investigation into the death led authorities to Anthony Ray Yester, a 47-year-old man from Letart. Witness accounts painted a grim picture of the events that unfolded at Yester's residence. One witness who was present at the home reported hearing glass break and an argument erupt at the front door. This individual saw Yester's girlfriend shouting at a man and telling him to leave.
Moments later, Yester is said to have pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots at the man, who then fell backward.
A second witness, who had arrived at the residence to deliver marijuana, provided a similar and harrowing account. She reported hearing screams and seeing a man backing out of the house. She then witnessed flashes from a gun muzzle as a man standing beside a woman fired several shots. The man who was backing away collapsed after being struck. Following the investigation and based on the evidence gathered from witnesses, Anthony Ray Yester was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. In May 2022, a grand jury indicted Yester on charges of murder and concealment of a deceased human body.
Paul Wesley Matheny was known as a heavy equipment operator and a member of IUOE Local 132. He was an avid outdoorsman with a passion for squirrel hunting and trout fishing. His violent death was a profound loss to his family, which includes his daughter and two brothers, and sent shockwaves through the community.
