
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//2017/09/22/murder-usa-teen-nabbed-by-police-at-richmond-airport-with-victims-car-after-murder-of-ruth-ann-knave-of-tall-timbers/cabin-rental-on-doe-hill-road-near-mcdowell-va-where-body-of-slain-ruth-ann-knave-was-found-near-mcdowell-va/" rel="attachment wp-att-13794"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Cabin-rental-on-Doe-Hill-Road-near-McDowell-Va.-where-body-of-slain-Ruth-Ann-Knave-was-found-near-McDowell-Va.-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-13794"/></a><figcaption>Cabin rental on a farm located on Doe Hill Road near McDowell Va. where the body of slain Ruth Ann Knave was found on Sept. 17, 2017.</figcaption></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//2017/09/22/murder-usa-teen-nabbed-by-police-at-richmond-airport-with-victims-car-after-murder-of-ruth-ann-knave-of-tall-timbers/ruth-ann-knave-of-tall-timbers-md-murdered-in-salem-va-on-sept-18-2017-teen-suspect-nabbed-at-richmond-airport/" rel="attachment wp-att-13792"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Ruth-Ann-Knave-of-Tall-Timbers-Md.-murdered-in-Salem-Va.-on-Sept.-18-2017-teen-suspect-nabbed-at-Richmond-airport-224x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-13792"/></a><figcaption><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong>Ruth Ann Knave of Tall Timbers Md. murdered by her grandson near Salem Va. on Sept. 17, 2017, Robert Marshall Cornelius nabbed at Richmond airport with her car.</strong></span></figcaption></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"> ;</h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">MURDER USA: Highland County</h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">UPDATE: <span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: 18pt;">GUILTY PLEA</span> ON SEPT. 25, 2018, SENTENCING SET FOR DEC. 20 2018 &#8211; <span style="color: #ff0000;"><a style="color: #ff0000;" href="https://www.thechesapeaketoday.com/2018/10/01/murder-usa-judge-allows-robert-marshall-cornelius-who-attempted-to-flee-after-shooting-grandma-to-death-to-be-free-on-bail-pending-sentencing/">KILLER ALLOWED TO REMAIN FREE ON BAIL</a></span> pending sentencing</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span style="color: #ff0000;">Robert Marshall Cornelius, 15, of McDowell, was indicted in March of 2018 for the murder on Sept. 17, 2017, of his grandmother.</span></h3>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span style="color: #ff0000;"> In addition to the murder charge, Cornelius was indicted on two counts of taking a credit card from Knave without consent and use of a firearm. In a plea deal, Cornelius pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and all of the other charges were dropped. The plea deal was arranged in Highland County Circuit Court. ;</span></h3>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong> ;</strong>SALEM, Va. – At the direction of the City of Roanoke Commonwealth’s Attorney, a 14-year-old Highland County male has been charged with first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and two counts of theft of a credit card for his alleged role in the fatal shooting of a Maryland woman in Highland County.</h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Officials now disclose that he has been held in a juvenile facility on a charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle since Richmond Airport Police took him into custody at the airport.</h4>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft"><a href="http://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Cornelius-family-from-Facebook.jpg"><img src="http://www.the-chesapeake.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Cornelius-family-from-Facebook.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-15158"/></a><figcaption><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 14pt;">Tragedy struck in September of 2017 when Ruth Ann Knave of Piney Point, was murdered by her grandson who attempted to flee with credit cards, cash, and a passport. He was nabbed by police at the Richmond airport. </span><span style="color: #993366; font-size: 14pt;">Robert Marshall Cornelius</span><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 14pt;"> was sentenced to twenty years in prison after he entered a guilty plea for the murder of his grandmother. This photo is of other family members who will now be without their grandmother, who was well-loved in the community, as well as the accused killer.)</span><br /><span style="color: #0000ff; font-size: 10pt;">Cornelius family photo from Facebook</span></figcaption></figure></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Salem Field Office continues to investigate the fatal shooting that occurred Sept. 17, 2017. The Roanoke Commonwealth’s Attorney has been appointed as a special prosecutor for the case. Typically, a special prosecutor is appointed when the commonwealth&#8217;s attorney in a county where a crime has occurred has a conflict of interest. When asked for comment on this murder, Highland County&#8217;s Commonwealth Attorney Melissa Dowd would not comment.</h4>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">UPDATE (Sept. 25, 2017) &#8211; The Highland County Commonwealth&#8217;s Attorney Melissa Dowd was asked to provide information on why a teen suspect found at the Richmond International Airport with the vehicle of the murdered Ruth Ann Knave was under house arrest and if charges are forthcoming against him or anyone in the murder.  ;Ms. Dowd responded by saying she would not have a comment at this time.</h3>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">From Melissa Dowd&#8217;s website:</h3>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Melissa Ann Dowd is a lawyer working in Highland County, Virginia. ; She was elected Commonwealth’s Attorney in 2007 and has been counsel to the Highland County Board of Supervisors since 1994 and counsel to the Town of Monterey since 2002.</span></p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//2017/09/22/murder-usa-teen-nabbed-by-police-at-richmond-airport-with-victims-car-after-murder-of-ruth-ann-knave-of-tall-timbers/melissa-ann-dowd-commonwealths-attorney-in-highland-county-va/" rel="attachment wp-att-13807"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Melissa-Ann-Dowd-Commonwealths-Attorney-in-Highland-County-Va.-200x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-13807"/></a><figcaption>Melissa Ann Dowd, Commonwealth&#8217;s Attorney in Highland County Va.</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Melissa has owned her private law practice for 18 years. She has represented more than 2,500 private clients — individuals, families, minors, court-appointed defendants, corporations, limited liability companies, partnership, and non-profits, among others, since 1990. Her work for private clients covers everything from real estate and equine law to business, contracts, wills, negotiations, workouts, and litigation.</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Monterey, Va. – A Tall Timbers woman is dead and a teenage boy was caught with her car at the Richmond Airport following her slaying on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, reports the Virginia State Police. ;</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Salem Field Office is investigating a fatal shooting in Highland County that occurred Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017.</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Shortly before 6 p.m., Sunday, the Highland County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in the 5200 block of Doe Hill Road in the McDowell community to conduct a welfare check. Inside the residence, the deputies located a deceased adult female, Ruth Ann (Cornelius) Knave, 76, of Tall Timbers, Md.</span></p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/CHESAPEAKE-TODAY-Vol-Crime-Time-ebook/dp/B075M9JCHD/ref=la_B0051KKWKM_1_3?s=books&;ie=UTF8&;qid=1506013692&;sr=1-3" rel="attachment wp-att-13771 noopener"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2017/09/The-Chesapeake-Today-front-page-Vol-10-No-4-b-181x300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-13771"/></a><figcaption><span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong>THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY Vol 10 No 4 available Amazon in print replica format. FREE FOR KINDLE UNLIMITED CUSTOMERS</strong></span></figcaption></figure></div>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Knave’s 2009 Subaru Forester was missing from the residence.</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Further investigation led Virginia State Police to the Richmond International Airport (RIC) in Richmond, Va., where the Subaru was located in the parking lot. A male juvenile was taken into custody by RIC Police. ;</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">One report reveals that the boy has not been charged as of yet but has been ordered to be held under house arrest.</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">House arrest is an extremely rare, perhaps unheard of, a result of a person charged with murder and indicates the possibility of a suspect that may be a family member.</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Virginia State Police report that Knave’s remains were transported to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Roanoke for examination and autopsy.</span></p>



<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.brinsfieldfuneral.com/sitemaker/sites//memsol.cgi?user_id=2009808">Obituary reports</a> visitation set for Sept. 26, 2017, at Brinsfield Funeral Home in Leonardtown, Md., and services the next day at St. George&#8217;s Episcopal Church in Valley Lee, Md.  ;</span></p>



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