A West Virginia man accused of murdering his 3-month-old daughter appeared in a Cabell County court on Tuesday, with a motion announcing that he has intentions to marry a woman on the witness list.
Shannon Overstreet pleaded not guilty at the arraignment to charges of murder, abuse, and concealment in front of Cabell County Circuit Court Judge Paul Farrell. He stands accused of killing his daughter, Angel Nichole Overstreet, who was last seen in Huntington in 2021.
The proceedings then took an unexpected turn, delving into a motion related to marriage, Fox 11 reports.
The executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Institute, Philip Morrison, told the court about Overstreet’s intention to marry a key witness in the case. This marriage, Morrison explained, could potentially exempt the witness from testifying.
Morrison revealed that intercepted jail phone conversations indicated Overstreet’s plans to marry the woman. Now, the prosecution is pushing for the woman to be removed from the witness list or to have the marriage delayed.
“I’m not saying it’s his intention to cut her off from us as a witness, but that would be the practical effect of it,” Morrison said.
“I don’t want to stand in the way of true love and all of that, but during the appendices of these proceedings, we have that spousal immunity and spousal privilege statute. If they get married then I can’t use her as a witness.”
Farrell told Morrison to provide him with any related examples of when a judge legally stopped a marriage, but Morrison said he didn’t have any.
“I do not have any,” Morrison explained. “I did discuss this with the head of DHS and he said, ‘An order is an order and if you get me one, we’ll follow it.’ But I don’t have any.”
Overstreet’s defense lawyer, Kerry Nessel, told the court he had only recently received the motion, explaining he should have at least five days to respond. Farrell then asked him if he wanted to argue the motion at another time.
“Yes, I would, your honor, No. 1, and No. 2, I agree with the court – I don’t think you can enter an order stopping any sort of marriage,” Nessel said.
Farrell reportedly hinted at allowing an early evidentiary deposition. However, he will likely deny the request to delay the marriage since he doesn’t think he can legally stop it.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Angel Overstreet was reported missing on May 25, 2021, from Huntington. However, police say the infant’s whereabouts cannot be confirmed since May 8, 2021.
Investigators questioned the defendant after learning that the baby vanished after social services visited his home over a custody dispute.
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Overstreet told investigators that he turned the baby over to Children’s Protective Services, but Huntington Police Chief Ray Cornwell said during a 2021 press conference that social services said the baby wasn’t in their custody.
Investigators now believe that Overstreet killed the infant, and then disposed of her in Kentucky.
In December, a Cabell County grand jury indicted Overstreet after reportedly seeing evidence presented by investigators regarding the defendant concealing and disposing of the victim’s remains.
He was also facing charges after beating his mother in 2021; he subsequently took a Kennedy Plea in 2023 for malicious assault and forgery. He’s currently serving up to 10 years behind bars for those charges.
Farrell scheduled the next hearing for the current case for January 23.
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[Feature Photo: Angel Overstreet/Family Handout]
