In the quiet community of Bent Mountain, Virginia, a tragic event unfolded on June 12, 2018, claiming the life of 20-year-old Brandon D. Dekle and two of his friends. Dekle, along with Cole P. Kennedy, 21, and Miranda B. Trump, 18, were discovered deceased from gunshot wounds inside a home on Bent Mountain Road. The grim discovery was made after Miranda Trump's father, unable to contact her, found her vehicle crashed down an embankment and reported her missing, leading police to the residence
for a welfare check.
The investigation into the triple homicide quickly led to the arrest of 18-year-old Trevor E. Charles of Roanoke. Charles was subsequently charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. All three victims, including Dekle, were coworkers with Charles at the Bent Mountain Bistro. Family and friends remembered Brandon Dekle as a caring and funny individual who had overcome personal challenges and was proudly living independently.
In a turn of events, Trevor Charles confessed to the killings, telling investigators that he considered the victims his friends but was compelled to act by 'malicious voices' in his head. In September 2019, Charles pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and related firearms charges. As a result of his plea, he was sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison, in addition to another 13 years, bringing a legal conclusion to the case that deeply affected the Bent Mountain community.
