Wheeling Teen Charged With First-Degree Murder
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By ALEX MEYER
Staff Writer
WHEELING — A Wheeling teen was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday night in connection with the Jan. 23 death of 19-year-old Caleb Smail.
Crandall Senkbeil, 18, was arraigned on a first-degree murder charge in Ohio County Magistrate Court for allegedly shooting and killing Smail in his Ohio County home.
The Ohio County Sheriff’s Office conducted a four-month-long investigation of Smail’s death and, as a result, filed a criminal complaint and issued a warrant for Senkbeil’s arrest.
During a press conference Thursday afternoon, Sheriff Tom Howard said the warrant was served and Senkbeil is incarcerated at the Northern Regional Jail with no bond currently set.
“Crandall Senkbeil is innocent until proven guilty and has a right to due process,” Howard said. “The Ohio County Sheriff’s Office will act in a manner to ensure those rights are upheld. There is no information that Senkbeil poses a threat to the public in general.”
The sheriff’s office responded to Smail’s house on Boone and Hedges Road, north of Clinton, at 7:50 p.m. Jan. 23, where they found that he had been shot in the chest, according to the criminal complaint. No firearm was found at the scene, and Smail’s safe, where he was known to keep cash, was missing.
The office then initiated an investigation into the death of Smail, who graduated from Wheeling Park High School in 2018 and also attended The Linsly School.
Per the complaint filed Tuesday, Senkbeil allegedly told a friend over the phone on Jan. 23 that he shot Smail, believed the incident to be an accident and stole a lock box from Smail with $10,000 inside. The friend reported this information to the sheriff’s office on March 22.
Senkbeil and Smail were known friends and associates, according to the complaint.
The complaint includes information from phone records and social media accounts obtained by investigator Lt. Doug Ernest, allegedly detailing correspondences between Smail and Senkbeil from October until the day of the murder.
Senkbeil first texted Smail on Oct. 5 and later texted him about purchasing marijuana on four different dates in November. Smail gave Senkbeil his address and information about how to enter and exit the property on Nov. 9 through a conversation on Snapchat.
On Jan. 23, Senkbeil tried to audio call Smail on Snapchat at 6:58 p.m. and 7:27 p.m., and both are listed as missed calls on Smail’s phone. Senkbeil’s phone records show he was using data during those times.
Phone records further show Senkbeil’s phone was using data âon a route consistent with traveling from his house in Elm Grove to Smail’s house,ã according to the complaint. Senkbeil’s phone was hitting at a tower in the area of Smail’s residence at 6:44 p.m. Jan 23.
The unnamed friend told the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office that he had a phone conversation with Senkbeil that evening. According to the complaint, the phone records corroborate the friend’s statement.
The friend stated that Senkbeil said he went to Smail’s house and walked inside his room. Smail attempted to “hit him with something” and then Senkbeil shot him. Senkbeil further described the shooting as an accident and said it occurred around 7 p.m.
The friend also asked Senkbeil why he went to Smail’s house and who drove him to the house, to which Senkbeil responded that the friend was asking too many questions, according to the complaint.
In addition, the friend stated that Senkbeil previously said he could rob Smail a few months prior and that Senkbeil carried a firearm in the past.
Howard said the sheriff’s office will not release any information on the case beyond the criminal complaint and what he stated at the press conference. He declined to answer questions about the matter.
“Any additional details not specifically disclosed in the criminal complaint will not be disclosed at this time,” Howard said.
Howard said Thursday morning that his department worked tirelessly to find the person responsible for Smail’s death.
“Yesterday was a very successful day,” he said.