Harold Edward Dennison Jr., a 62-year-old White man, was killed on the afternoon of February 28, 2021, at the Sunshine Mountain Road home he shared with his daughter outside Williamstown, West Virginia. Dennison and 26-year-old Beau Wasmer, his daughter's fiancé, were working together in an attached garage and reportedly hanging or repairing a door when the quiet Sunday project suddenly became the scene of a double shooting.
The first account given to authorities did not describe a shooting. Hillary Paige Dennison called 911 and reported that two people had been injured in an accident involving a nail gun. Wood County sheriff's deputies responded to the residence and quickly discovered that both men had actually suffered firearm wounds. Harold Dennison was pronounced dead at the scene. Wasmer was transported by ambulance to Marietta Memorial Hospital, where he died approximately an hour later.
Investigators concluded that the story about an exploding or malfunctioning nail gun had been fabricated.
Hillary Dennison was taken into custody the same day. During a recorded or Mirandized interview with a detective, she admitted that she had intentionally fired a gun at her father and that the gunfire had killed both men. Evidence recovered from the attached garage, along with witness statements, supported the criminal complaint. Sheriff Steve Stephens initially described the violence as domestic in nature but did not publicly identify a definite motive while the investigation remained underway. She was charged with two counts of murder and held without bond at the North Central Regional Jail.
As the case progressed, prosecutors said Hillary fired two shots while the men were working on the door. She maintained that she had intended to kill her father but had not intended to kill Wasmer. The motive for targeting Harold was never explained with complete clarity. Prosecutors said Hillary had indicated that she was angry with her father over family and marital matters. During later court proceedings, she also spoke about a troubled upbringing, alleged abuse, financial difficulties, depression, long-term drug use and paranoia associated with methamphetamine. Those statements became part of the sentencing discussion, but the prosecutor argued that her personal history did not excuse the deliberate killing.
A Wood County grand jury indicted Hillary Dennison on murder charges, and the case was scheduled for trial before being continued more than once as the defense prepared. In April 2023, she abandoned her not-guilty pleas and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with mercy for killing Harold and second-degree murder for killing Wasmer. The plea avoided a jury trial and formally established her responsibility for both deaths.
At the June 2023 sentencing hearing, Hillary spoke at length about her life, substance abuse and the paranoia she said contributed to the shootings. She expressed regret, while her attorney asked the judge to permit the sentences to run at the same time. Prosecutors opposed that request, arguing that Harold and Wasmer were two separate victims and that each death deserved its own punishment. The court imposed a life sentence with the possibility of parole for Harold's first-degree murder and the maximum 40-year sentence for Wasmer's second-degree murder. Judge Robert Waters ordered the sentences to be served consecutively, meaning one after the other. Prosecutors stated that she would have to serve at least 25 years before becoming eligible for release consideration.
The investigation therefore did not remain an unsolved case with an unidentified suspect. Harold's daughter was arrested within hours of the killings, admitted intentionally firing the weapon, pleaded guilty and received a life term plus 40 years. Although the precise emotional trigger behind the attack remained uncertain, the court proceedings established that the supposed nail-gun accident had been an attempt to conceal a deliberate shooting that ended the lives of both Harold Dennison and Beau Wasmer.
