Chloe Francis “Frankie” Stanton, a 43-year-old White/Caucasian woman, was serving as chief of police in the small McDowell County community of Bradshaw, West Virginia, when a routine disturbance call turned deadly. Although the shooting occurred on August 27, 1998, law-enforcement memorial records identify August 28, 1998, as the date of her death.
Stanton had served with the Bradshaw Police Department for approximately two years when she was fatally wounded while dealing with a prisoner inside her own police station.
The confrontation began when 61-year-old Charlie Vance rode into Bradshaw on horseback and became involved in a disturbance outside a local drugstore, where authorities said he had gone to have a prescription filled. McDowell County authorities reported that Vance had been drinking. Stanton responded to the situation and took him into custody. During that process she confiscated a. 32-caliber handgun from him and brought him to the Bradshaw police station. What Stanton apparently did not know was that Vance was still carrying another firearm—a small. 22-caliber Derringer concealed in a pouch strapped around his waist.
Inside the station, Vance was seated while Stanton attended to police business. His niece and nephew had reportedly arrived after hearing about the earlier disturbance and were present when the situation suddenly escalated. According to the account authorities gave immediately afterward, Stanton moved to answer or make a telephone call. Vance then got up, removed the concealed Derringer and shot her in the head. He placed the weapon back into the pouch and walked out of the station, leaving Stanton critically wounded.
Vance escaped from the station on horseback, but his flight was short-lived. Responding officers pursued him in vehicles, cornered him and took him into custody. He was charged with murder. Stanton was rushed for emergency medical treatment following the shooting but succumbed to her injuries the following day. Her death was subsequently recognized as a line-of-duty killing, and later memorial accounts described her as having been killed by a prisoner who had been in her custody.
The criminal case against Vance ultimately proceeded to trial in McDowell County. On January 24, 2000, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder in Stanton’s killing and recommended mercy. He was also convicted of carrying a concealed deadly weapon without a license. Court records show that he was found not guilty of a separate charge of obstructing an officer in the lawful exercise and discharge of official duties. The prosecution was handled by McDowell County Prosecuting Attorney Sidney H. Bell, while Vance was represented by public defenders Floyd A. Anderson and Ted White.
On February 24, 2000, Vance was sentenced to life imprisonment with mercy for the first-degree murder conviction. He received an additional one-year sentence for carrying the concealed weapon, with that term ordered to run consecutively to the murder sentence. The mercy recommendation was significant because it distinguished his sentence from a first-degree murder sentence imposed without mercy. Law-enforcement memorial records have also summarized the punishment as a sentence of 15 years to life.
Vance continued challenging his conviction after the trial. Among the issues raised in his direct appeal were claims that he had been unable to form the intent necessary to commit murder, that statements obtained from him should have been excluded, that questioning continued improperly after he declined to sign a waiver of his constitutional rights, and that his confessions were allegedly the result of police brutality. He also argued that the jury’s verdict was contrary to the law and evidence. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia refused his direct criminal appeal on January 23, 2002, leaving the conviction and sentence in place.
Vance later pursued habeas corpus relief. He filed a petition in 2003 and, after years of additional proceedings, the McDowell County Circuit Court denied relief in July 2010. He appealed again, arguing in part that the trial judge had interfered excessively during his criminal proceedings. On April 18, 2011, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the denial of habeas relief. The court found no substantial question of law or prejudicial error warranting reversal, and Vance’s conviction for Stanton’s murder remained intact.
Stanton’s death left a lasting impact on Bradshaw and the surrounding McDowell County community. She had been carrying out the ordinary responsibilities of a small-town police chief—responding to a disturbance, disarming a potentially dangerous individual and bringing him into custody—when the second concealed weapon turned what appeared to be a controlled arrest into a fatal attack. She left behind a young daughter as well as her father and several brothers and sisters. Years later, Stanton continued to be honored in West Virginia memorial ceremonies recognizing law-enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, while the man responsible for her death remained convicted of first-degree murder.
