Autopsy brings murder charge in Wythe County death

******UPDATE*********

An autopsy was conducted on the body of Angela Dawn Spain at the Roanoke Medical Examiners’ Office on May 5, 2023. The cause of death has been determined to be from both blunt force trauma to the head and strangulation. Charles Lee Spain Jr. has been charged with First Degree Murder and defiling a dead human body.

The Wythe County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the following agencies for their assistance.

Virginia State Police, Wythe County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiners in Roanoke.

Original Post:

On 5/4/2023 at 3:45 A.M., the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office received a call in the 1300 block of Lots Gap Road about an unconscious female. The Wythe County Sheriff’s Office and Lead Mines Rescue arrived on the scene and found a deceased female. Wythe County investigators were called to the scene. An interview was conducted with the deceased female’s husband Charles Lee Spain Jr. Charles Spain has been charged with assault of a family member and strangulation. An autopsy of the body will be conducted at the medical examiner’s office in Roanoke and more charges could be pending. The Virginia State Police processed the crime scene.

Charles Spain is being held at the New River Valley Regional Jail without bond.

Charles Lee Spain Jr.

1318 Lots Gap Road

Max Meadows, Va 24360

18.2-51.6 Strangulation

18.2-57.2 Assault on Family Member

An update will be released after the autopsy is completed tomorrow.