The Danielle Pruett murder was the March 2016 killing of a 29-year-old mother of three from Bluefield, Virginia, by Shaun Matthew Wakefield, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in September 2018 and was sentenced to 57 years in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors in Tazewell County had originally charged Wakefield with capital murder and announced they would seek the death penalty before the case was resolved by plea agreement.
How Danielle Pruett Disappeared
Pruett was reported missing on March 17, 2016, after she failed to pick up her child for baseball practice.1WCYB. SW Virginia Man Indicted for Capital Murder The Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office searched for her with help from the Bluefield Police Department and the Virginia State Police.2Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Missing Tazewell County Woman Found Dead, Suspect in Custody
Around 10:00 a.m. the next morning, investigators found her blue sedan near Graham Recreational Park in Bluefield. K-9 units and helicopters searched the park, and evidence gathered there led officers to her body in a wooded area off Route 720 near Bluefield.3WVNS-TV. New Details: Suspect in Danielle Pruett Murder Arraigned A preliminary autopsy found she had died of blunt force trauma.4WJHL. Man Charged in Murder of Tazewell County, Va. Woman No weapon was recovered.
Shaun Matthew Wakefield and the Capital Murder Charge
When Pruett’s body was found, Wakefield was already being held at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail on unrelated matters, including a felony larceny charge on which he had been out on bond and a March 18 charge of altering a drug screen.5WJHL. Grand Jury Returns True Bill Indicting Tazewell, Va. Man for Capital Murder He was 32 at the time and on probation for prior convictions out of Alexandria, Virginia, that included burglary, larceny, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and drug offenses.4WJHL. Man Charged in Murder of Tazewell County, Va. Woman
Investigators interviewed him and linked him to the killing, and he was formally charged with first-degree murder on March 29, 2016. According to Tazewell County Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Lee Dennis, Wakefield killed Pruett, drove her car around Tazewell County with her body in the trunk, and then dumped her remains in the woods near Bluefield.6WVNS-TV. Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Woman, Driving Her Car With Her Body in the Trunk
On October 21, 2016, a special session of the Tazewell County Grand Jury returned a true bill indicting Wakefield on three counts: capital murder, grand larceny of a motor vehicle, and concealing a dead body.7Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Defense Attorney Appointed in Tazewell County Death Penalty Case Dennis said his office would seek the death penalty, arguing that “the circumstances of this killing more than justifies our decision to charge Wakefield with capital murder.”1WCYB. SW Virginia Man Indicted for Capital Murder Wakefield was held without bond at the Abingdon Regional Jail.
The Guilty Plea and 57-Year Sentence
The case ended by plea more than two years after the killing. On the morning of September 24, 2018, Wakefield, then 35, appeared before Judge Jack Hurley in Tazewell County Circuit Court.8Bluefield Daily Telegraph. 57 Years Without Parole: Man Sentenced for 2016 Murder of Danielle Pruett Judge Hurley amended the indictment from capital murder to first-degree murder, and Wakefield pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, grand larceny of an automobile, and concealing a dead body.9Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Man Pleads Guilty to Murder, Avoids the Death Penalty The agreement took the death penalty off the table.
Dennis said the decision to accept the plea followed consultation with Pruett’s family, who were “supportive of the disposition” because it provided closure after more than two years of waiting.10Bluefield Daily Telegraph. 57 Years Without Parole
Judge Hurley imposed 70 years on the murder count with 13 years suspended, plus another 15 years combined suspended on the larceny and concealment counts. The active sentence totals 57 years in prison with no possibility of parole.8Bluefield Daily Telegraph. 57 Years Without Parole: Man Sentenced for 2016 Murder of Danielle Pruett
The Family Pruett Left Behind
Pruett was survived by three children: a daughter, Tylee Pruett, and two sons, Isaiah Pruett-Saunders and Ca’ron Martin, all of Bluefield. Her family described her as a devoted mother who was regularly at her children’s sporting events. She had a twin sister, Lauren “Nikki” Garnett, two other sisters, and was the daughter of Charlene Russell Pruett and the late Randall Pruett.11Dudley Memorial. Danielle Louise Pruett Obituary
At the sentencing hearing, her brother-in-law, Brett DeGallery, who said he had known Pruett since she was eight and had been a father figure to her, called her a “devoted, hard-working mother” with a “wonderful zest for life.” Her twin sister Nikki said she “would do anything for anybody.” Statements were read on behalf of her children. Her daughter, by then 15, spoke of the lasting heartbreak of losing her mother. Her son, who was 10 when Pruett was killed, remembered traveling with her and said, “I can’t see my mom but he can still see his family.”10Bluefield Daily Telegraph. 57 Years Without Parole