In the quiet woods near Mendota, Virginia, the life of 17-year-old Joslyn Alsup was tragically cut short in March of 2019. A traveling carnival worker named James Michael Wright, then 23, would later confess to her killing, weaving a tale of what he claimed was an accident. Wright, an employee of the Blountville, Tennessee-based Pony Express carnival, knew Joslyn as the daughter of a coworker.
According to Wright's account to authorities, he and Joslyn were in the woods near his home on or around March 9th. He claimed that after they had sex, he attempted to shoot an animal but accidentally shot and killed her instead. In an attempt to conceal what he had done, he covered her body with logs next to a creek. Her family had reported her missing from Marietta, Georgia, on March 8th. The investigation into another missing woman would ultimately lead law enforcement to uncover the grim truth of Joslyn's fate.
The search for 25-year-old Athina Hopson of Johnson City, Tennessee, put a spotlight on Wright, who was believed to be the last person seen with her. During their investigation, police found Hopson's cellphone in Wright's truck. This discovery led to a search of his property, where he eventually admitted to killing not only Hopson but also Joslyn Alsup and another woman, 22-year-old Elizabeth Vanmeter of Carter County, Tennessee. He claimed all three deaths, which occurred over an 18-day period, were accidental. Authorities found this claim 'hard to believe.'
Wright was arrested and faced three counts of capital murder, three counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and three counts of disposing of a body. The remains of Joslyn Alsup and Elizabeth Vanmeter were recovered near Wright's home, while the search for Athina Hopson's body continued in a nearby river where Wright claimed to have disposed of it. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service assisted in the investigation to ensure there were no other victims connected to the traveling carnival worker.
