MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – James Stallard, who is believed to have killed Crystal Hannah in June 2022, went to court for the first time on Tuesday for what is called a preliminary hearing. He was in Montgomery County General District Court.
He is being investigated for murder in the second degree as well as covering up a dead corpse.
Hannah’s body was found in a forest in Montgomery County on June 6. This was only a few days after her friends and family said she had gone missing.
A Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy initially talked with Stallard about Hannah’s abduction about one in the morning on June 6, according to the testimony of detectives who were looking into the case.
In the beginning of the investigation, Stallard informed the deputies that he hadn’t seen or heard from Hannah in a few days.
Deputies claim that a short time later, at 5 a.m., Stallard contacted the Sheriff’s Office and asked to talk with investigators once again, but this time in person.
In their testimony, the detectives who came to the scene said that Stallard admitted to killing Hannah after an argument that turned violent.
Stallard may be heard on a video tape made by responding officers at his house saying things like “I wounded her” and “she’s dead.”
Stallard is said to have told the deputies that before the incident, he had hit her in the mouth, thrown her to the ground, and strangled her to death.
After that, he placed Hannah’s corpse into her minivan and drove it into a forested region near Elliston, which was not too far from his own home.
According to the police, Hannah’s body was found buried in a pile of leaves with three flowers and a rock nearby. This looked like a makeshift grave.
