On the evening of April 9, 2021, a burst of gunfire shattered the peace at the Vista View Apartment Complex in Charleston, West Virginia. Chastanay Joseph, a 22-year-old female, was walking in the Renaissance Circle housing project with her three-year-old daughter when they were ambushed. A man approached them and opened fire, striking both mother and child. Joseph suffered multiple gunshot wounds, while her young daughter was hit once in the abdomen. The little girl managed to run and separate herself from her mother during the horrific attack.
Both were rushed to Charleston Area Medical Center for treatment. Despite the efforts of medical staff, Chastanay Joseph succumbed to her injuries and died. Her daughter, though seriously wounded, survived the shooting and faced a long road to recovery in the hospital.
The incident, which was initially thought to be a domestic dispute, was later considered by police to be potentially linked to prior altercations Joseph had with associates of the suspect.
Later that same night, a swift investigation involving U.S. Marshals and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives led to an arrest. Authorities located and apprehended 46-year-old Dorian Vashawn Clark on the west side of Charleston after his vehicle was found abandoned on Piedmont Road. Clark was charged with murder and malicious wounding.
Ultimately, Dorian Clark pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for killing Chastanay Joseph and also admitted to possession of an illegal firearm. In January 2023, a Kanawha County judge sentenced him to 40 years in prison for the murder. An additional five-year sentence was added for the firearm charge, with the judge ordering that the sentences be served consecutively, ensuring Clark would face a total of 45 years behind bars for the violent act that took a young mother's life and forever altered her child's.
