RAVENSWOOD, West Virginia (24 Sep 2007) -- Police have discovered a hammer they believe was used to kill a 35-year-old Egyptian-born man. But investigators might still be searching for a murder weapon if not for the help of a Ripley insurance agent who dives for underwater Civil War artifacts in his leisure time. Mike McGrew received a phone call around 3 p.m. Friday from a policeman asking if he could come down to Riverfront Park in Ravenswood with his underwater metal detector. A few hours later, police found a hammer nestled in an aquatic wheat bed in the Ohio River about 50 feet from shore. Police had been combing the river, which flows by the park, for a few days last week trying to find the weapon used to beat Mohamed M.A. Mahrous to death. Mahrous, who moved to Jackson County just a month ago, was having dinner with his wife at the park Sept. 17 when a man appeared and brutally attacked him. Mahrous died from blunt force trauma at the scene. The wife, Roseann Osborne, 25, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. The alleged assailant, Larry Samuel White, 31, who police say is romantically involved with Osborne, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. But Ravenswood Police Chief Paul Hesson said finding the possible murder weapon was the "last piece of the puzzle." After a few days of relentless searching, Capt. Herb Faber of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department decided to contact McGrew for assistance. Faber knew of McGrew's underwater exploits and some of the specialized diving equipment he owned, including a metal detector. When McGrew arrived at the park, police briefed him on the crime scene and formed a grid pattern. A State Police trooper established an outer boundary line by hurling a sample hammer into the river with all of his might. Faber and two troopers, Dan Herdman and Brent Keefer, scoured inside the grid pattern while McGrew operated the metal detector. The crew ran into several false targets -- large pieces of tin, an old set of locks and metal debris embedded into rock and concrete. The men finally uncovered a hammer that was just a few feet underwater and hidden within vegetation. "It was almost dark, around 7:30, and something set off the detector," McGrew said. "I held the detector and Herb went down and picked it up. It was very obvious it hadn't been in the water very long." McGrew said police were already in the general vicinity of the weapon when he arrived. The thick wheat bed seemed to obscure the hammer from police earlier, he said. "The clarity was right and the temperature of the water was just right," McGrew said. "But the vegetation was heavy in the water. I think if a wheat bed hadn't been there, the divers would've found it earlier. It's a great place for the fish, but not for finding things." For McGrew, a State Farm insurance agent for 25 years, said it was the first time he ever aided in a police investigation. | | The 57-year-old is a certified wreck diver who's explored underwater World War II and Civil War wreckage sites. Throughout his journeys along the Atlantic coast and even Hawaii, McGrew has pulled out Civil War rifle parts, bullets and old, antique bottles. His favorite item is an ivory domino that came from a war ship. "These are nothing of intrinsic value, but it's neat to hold the domino and think about the crewmen playing with that," McGrew said. McGrew started diving in 1982. In the 1990s, he started exploring wreck sites. It's the perfect combination of McGrew's two passions -- diving and history. He studied history as his minor at Alderson-Broaddus College. McGrew received his underwater training from Scuba WV at the Charleston YMCA. While his trusty Fisher metal detector has accompanied McGrew on countless historical voyages, this recent outing on the Ohio River offered him a different learning experience. "I felt privileged," McGrew said. "This was totally different than what I'm used to. The police had already done such a good job investigating that it made my job pretty easy. "The major credit should go to police. They wouldn't give up. They wanted that piece of evidence." The hammer has been submitted to a forensics lab for testing. Mahrous' body was transported Monday from West Virginia to Durham, N.C. All of Mahrous' relatives live in Egypt, but he has close friends in North Carolina. Chief Hesson said he did not know if Mahrous would be buried in North Carolina or taken to his native Egypt. The victim's family was notified of the death last week through an Egyptian friend, Hesson said. Mahrous leaves behind two small children, whom he had with his wife, Osborne. According to police, Osborne also has a child with the murder suspect, White. Police had to track down White in Indiana last week after they found several inconsistencies in his statements to investigators. He was extradited to West Virginia and is currently held in South Central Regional Jail. Osborne was arrested at a Jackson County hotel. She is also being held at South Central Regional Jail. Both are scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at Jackson County Magistrate Court on Thursday. Hesson said investigators are satisfied with all of the evidence they've obtained for the case. He attributed the quick arrests and gathering of evidence to good old-fashioned police work. Ravenswood Police, the Jackson County Sheriff and West Virginia State Police all aided in the investigation. "Finding the weapon solidifies the case," Hesson said. "The investigators, the officers, you couldn't make them go home. It's a whodunit murder solved within 48 hours. That's impressive." SOURCE - Charleston Daily MailSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
