A criminal complaint says investigators linked a Summit Lake grave site to a Richwood home and pickup truck.
SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — Evidence found in a burn pit near Summit Lake helped turn a missing-person report into a murder case against a Richwood mother accused of killing her daughter, police said.
The case against Staci Leann Wind, 50, is built around what investigators say they found after Ayla Wind, 26, was reported missing and later discovered dead in Greenbrier County. Police said the evidence includes burned human remains, a cellphone, blood stains inside a home, a cut-up mattress, plant baskets and items connected to a child’s booster seat. The findings are listed in a criminal complaint that led to Staci Wind’s arrest on a first-degree murder charge. She has pleaded not guilty, and the case has moved toward circuit court.
The first evidence site was not the family home. It was the Summit Lake area, where troopers responded May 22 after receiving a report of human remains. A burn area drew officers’ attention. Inside it, police said, they found human bones, ashes, a yellow cellphone matching the description of Ayla Wind’s phone and other debris. Investigators then searched nearby land and found a shallow grave. Ayla’s body was inside. Police said the remains had been burned, and the grave contained a burned tarp and what appeared to be a bloodied sheet. Troopers also noted two ferns on top of the grave. That detail could have seemed small at first, but it later became one of the items police used to connect the lake scene to Staci Wind’s truck.
The second evidence site was the home on Riverside Drive in Richwood. Police searched it May 23, the day after the remains were found and the same day Staci Wind was arrested. Investigators said chemical tests gave presumptive positive results for human blood in several areas. The complaint says police found blood in Ayla Wind’s room, including bloody handprints on a wall. Officers also found a mattress that had been cut up and had blood on it, according to police. Staci Wind allegedly told investigators she had given away Ayla’s mattress. Police said the condition and location of the mattress became part of the case because it contradicted that statement. The complaint does not publicly say whether laboratory testing later confirmed every presumptive blood result, and authorities have not released a complete forensic report.
The third evidence site was Staci Wind’s pickup truck. Police said two plant baskets in the truck bed matched the shape and size of the ferns found on the grave. Investigators also said they found a booster seat manual in the truck and connected it to a booster seat found near the burial area. The complaint says Staci Wind told police she bought charcoal, wood chips and lighter fluid before driving to Summit Lake on May 16. She said she camped in her truck there, according to investigators. At the lake, police said they found charcoal and wood chips near the burn area. Together, those details gave investigators a chain of evidence that moved from store-bought fire supplies to the lake scene, then back to the home and truck.
Before those searches, the public story was a missing daughter. Staci Wind went to the Richwood Police Department on May 18 and reported that Ayla had been missing since May 15. Richwood Chief Deputy Shane Boggs said Staci Wind told officers Ayla might have left with someone she met online. He said she could not identify that person, describe the vehicle or say where Ayla had gone, except that she mentioned a lake. Boggs said she appeared to be a concerned mother, but “wasn’t frantic.” Investigators later reviewed phone records and found that Ayla had texted with her mother and said she was getting snacks at a gas station. Family members also described a plan for Ayla to go to a lake with friends. Police have not said whether they found evidence that such friends existed or that another vehicle picked her up.
Ayla Wind’s relatives said her silence did not fit her habits. A family member said she would not go a day without checking on her son or partner. Relatives said she had been preparing to move back to Utah, where family members expected to reunite with her. A fundraising page was created to help transport her ashes to Utah, pay for travel and support a memorial. The page also said a young child and a single parent were left behind. Those family statements do not answer what happened at the Richwood home or Summit Lake, but they explain why a missing-person report drew concern. Ayla’s planned move and regular contact with family made her sudden disappearance stand out before investigators found the grave.
The evidence described by police also left open major questions. Authorities have not released Ayla Wind’s final cause of death. They have not said exactly when they believe she was killed. They have not publicly described a weapon. They have not said whether they believe the body was moved from the home to Summit Lake or whether any part of the fatal attack happened elsewhere. They have not publicly named a motive. Sgt. Douglas Gordon of the West Virginia State Police said investigators were continuing to examine why Ayla was killed and that more charges were possible. The public record now gives a rough sequence, but not a full narrative of the killing. It shows when the missing-person report was made, when remains were found and what evidence police say they recovered afterward.
Staci Wind was arrested at a Riverside Drive residence on May 23 and taken to Central Regional Jail. Jail records initially listed her as a pretrial felon inmate held without bond. State police announced the first-degree murder charge after identifying Ayla’s remains. Later court reporting said online records also showed a second-degree murder count. Staci Wind entered a not guilty plea. In magistrate court, she waived a preliminary hearing that had been scheduled to test whether probable cause existed. Because of that waiver, the charge moved to Nicholas County Circuit Court. The next major step is expected to involve a grand jury. If jurors return an indictment, the case can proceed toward arraignment in circuit court, pretrial motions and trial scheduling.
The case now rests on the work needed to turn field evidence into courtroom evidence. Presumptive blood tests can guide investigators, but prosecutors often rely on laboratory confirmation, chain-of-custody records and witness testimony to present such findings in court. Items such as the phone, tarp, sheet, ferns, plant baskets and booster seat materials would have to be tied clearly to the accused and to the death. Defense attorneys can challenge how items were collected, how tests were done and what each item proves. The public court record so far gives police claims, not trial findings. Staci Wind remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
As of June 21, investigators have not released final forensic results or a complete autopsy finding. The case is pending in Nicholas County Circuit Court, and the grand jury process is the next known step.
Author note: Last updated June 21, 2026.