A West Virginia grand jury indicted a Georgia man on March 19 in connection with the death of Courtney Nicole DuBois, formerly of Limestone, whose dismembered body was found in a landfill in late 2018.
According to the West Virginia Metro News, Terrick Robinson, 34, of Cartersville, Georgia, pleaded not guilty on March 27 in federal district court in Clarksburg, West Virginia, to distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, and six other drug or gun charges.
Dubois’ dismembered body was found in a Bartow County, Georgia, landfill on Aug. 13, 2018. Investigators used dental records to identify Dubois, who had been living in Fairmont, West Virginia, when family members reported her missing.
Bella Michaud, DuBois’ great aunt, said Thursday that she and family members are happy that someone is finally charged for “doing such an awful thing.
“It’s just horrific what happened to her,” said Michaud, who lives in Fort Fairfield and works in Van Buren..
Robinson previously was indicted on drug charges, but on March 19 the U.S. Attorney’s office added the new distribution resulting in death charge in a superseding indictment, according to the West Virginia News.
His attorney Tom Dyer told the West Virginia News that the superseding indictment was expected.
“The government has been waiting on the results of some forensic testing and some other evidence, and we have always anticipated there would be additional charges,” Dyer said. “This is no surprise to us. This is likely to delay the trial of the case for a number of months. This is one of the biggest investigations of the local task force that I’ve ever observed.”
Dyer was referring to the Greater Harrison Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, which has led the investigation into Robinson and others.
Two Cartersville, Georgia, men with connections to Robinson, William Chappel, 32, and Sheddrick Damond Banks, 26, were arrested following a Sept. 4 raid on a Fairmont hotel room resulting from a drug trafficking investigation that began in mid spring of 2018.
Chappel pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal drug and gun charges related to an alleged narcotics pipeline from Georgia to West Virginia. In return for his plea and cooperation, federal prosecutors agreed not to charge him with distribution resulting in death, according to the West Virginia publication. Chappel still faces more than 20 years in prison on the other charges.
Banks also remains imprisoned pending resolution of his case.
Investigators, however, have not yet revealed who is responsible for dismembering and discarding DuBois’ body following her fatal overdose.
Bella Michaud said that she and many in the family “feel her dismemberment is just as awful as killing her,” and that she is sure “more charges are coming” in the investigation.
“You watch crime shows on TV and it’s solved in one episode, but that’s not the case in reality. It just seems like it’s dragging.”
Michaud first discovered something was wrong in August of last year, when she saw one of DuBois’ friends write a Facebook post on her niece’s page asking, “Where are you? Please contact us.” Michaud then contacted the person who wrote the post and was horrified to learn that her niece was missing.
Courtney Dubois’ father and grandfather immediately left work as soon as they found out and subsequently contacted the Fairmont police as soon as they could.
“She was only 20 years old,” said Michaud. “You don’t always make good choices when you’re that young, and it’s just really, really unfortunate that this has happened to her.”
Michaud’s brother, Sylvio Dubois of Limestone said last year that his granddaughter Courtney was born in Castleview, North Carolina. She moved to Wisconsin and Indiana before coming to The County as a teenager.
“She wasn’t used to the little communities up here,” he said. “She had a difficult time and ended up going to Alternative Ed in Caribou. She did very well over there and graduated.”
Courtney DuBois later moved to West Virginia, and her grandfather would often keep in touch with her via Facebook and “go to her page and see what’s going on.”
“She posted in July that she ‘finally made it and was now a college student,’” Sylvio DuBois said. “My son, Adam, had given her his GI Bill and she was going to go to college at some point in August.”
The family now awaits the trial that might bring more answers about what happened to her.
While no date has been set for a trial, Michaud said she is apprehensive that Robinson may have a good lawyer.
“I hope there’s not a loophole somewhere,” she said. “I’m sure selling drugs is very profitable and that he has a good lawyer. I just hope that, ultimately, justice is done.”
