In the summer of 2021, the community of Grafton, West Virginia, was shaken by the untimely death of Tyler McKenzie Poston, a 26-year-old Caucasian male. Born on September 27, 1994, in Fairmont, West Virginia, Tyler was a graduate of Grafton High School's Class of 2013 and worked as a heavy equipment operator. Those who knew him remembered a man who cherished his family and friends, with a particular love for hunting, fishing, and baseball.
Above all, he was a devoted father to his young daughter.
On the morning of Saturday, June 26, 2021, Poston's body was discovered near his pickup truck at a pull-off on U.S. Route 119, near the border of Taylor and Monongalia counties. An investigation quickly determined that his death was a homicide. An autopsy revealed that he had sustained multiple gunshot wounds, including two to the head and four to his body. Authorities believed he was shot at the location where his body was found, and there were no immediate signs of a struggle.
In the days that followed, law enforcement appealed to the public for assistance, asking residents in the area to check their home security cameras for any suspicious activity from the night of Friday, June 25th, into the following morning. The investigation progressed, and less than two weeks later, on July 7, 2021, an arrest was made in connection with the murder.
Joshua Blake Price, a 29-year-old from Farmington, was taken into custody and charged with the murder of Tyler Poston. Details regarding a potential motive or the circumstances that led investigators to Price were not immediately made public. The arrest brought a sense of cautious relief to a community mourning the loss of a young man taken too soon, as they awaited the progression of the legal proceedings to bring about justice for Tyler and his family.
