In the early hours of May 24, 2020, a party at a home on Henshaw Road in Inwood, West Virginia, ended in tragedy. Shortly after 6 a.m., Berkeley County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of shots fired at the residence. When they arrived, they found Ryan Lynch, a 25-year-old White male from nearby Harpers Ferry, lying on the ground outside. He had been shot, and despite lifesaving measures, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation began immediately, with assistance from the West Virginia State Police, Winchester Police Department, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department. Investigators learned that a party had taken place at the home on Saturday night. According to Sheriff Curtis Keller, Lynch and another man both left the party at some point and returned early Sunday morning. The shooting occurred sometime after their return.
The investigation moved swiftly, and authorities identified a suspect within hours.
Later that same day, police arrested Donnyel Nathaniel Simmons, a 40-year-old from Martinsburg, in connection with the shooting. He was charged with first-degree murder and taken to the Eastern Regional Jail, where he was held without bond. While an arrest was made, authorities did not publicly release a motive for the killing as their work continued.
In November 2021, the case against Simmons went before a Berkeley County jury in a four-day trial presided over by Judge Laura V. Faircloth. After a short period of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict, finding Simmons, then 42, guilty on all counts: first-degree murder, use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and felony possession of a firearm. The court then proceeded to the sentencing phase, where Simmons was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, closing the case in November 2021.
