Two plead guilty in 2025 drowning of Burgettstown teen
WELLSBURG, W.Va. – Two people charged in connection to the 2025 drowning of a Washington County teenager pleaded guilty earlier this month in Brooke County (W.Va.) Circuit Court.
Ashley Shelton, 30, entered a guilty plea to one count of child neglect resulting in death while Joshua Lewis Lockerbie, 36, pled to one count of child neglect resulting in death and two counts of gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
Shelton and Lockerbie, both of Weirton, W.Va., had been charged in the death of 13-year-old Reese Hanshaw of Burgettstown in June 2025, who drowned in the Ohio River.
Sentencing will occur at a later date, according to information from the Brooke County Prosecutor’s Office, which noted statutory sentencing for child neglect resulting in death is either a fine of $1,000 to $5,000 or prison of three to 15 years, or both, while gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury could carry prison of one to five years.
Circuit Court Judge Jason Cuomo ordered the Brooke County Probation Office to conduct pre-sentence investigations.
According to an initial criminal complaint, as well as reports from law enforcement at the time, Shelton and Lockerbie had taken a group of six children, ranging in age 4 to 13, to a bank along the Ohio River near the Veterans Memorial Bridge on the evening of June 30, 2025.
The Weirton Police Department and Weirton Fire Department were dispatched to the area at 6:54 p.m. for a report of a juvenile drowning, with Weirton Patrolman Adam Mortimer arriving to observe Lockerbie and Shelton standing on the riverbank, out of the water, with a juvenile floating, face-down approximately 50 yards from the bank. Law enforcement noted heavy rainfall at the time resulted in high water levels and a fast river current.
According to the prosecutor’s office, “Patrolman Mortimer went into the river and swam to the juvenile where he was able to retrieve her and pull her onto the shoreline. Patrolman Mortimer called for Lockerbie to come into the water to assist him in pulling the juvenile onto the riverbank. Patrolman Mortimer began CPR on the juvenile before Patrolman (Jacob) Hinerman arrived on scene where he assisted in CPR. Weirton Fire arrived on scene where they took over life-saving measures.”
Hanshaw was transported to WVU Medicine Weirton Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 8:34 p.m.
“Units did not observe any life vests while on scene,” according to the report from the prosecutor’s office. “Units did observe one blue inner tube that was not inflated. Shelton and Lockerbie stated that the inner tube was in the trunk of the SUV and once they realized that three of the juveniles were drowning, Shelton obtained the inner tube and began trying to inflate it with negative results. It was learned that one child was able to make it back to safety on his own, that Lockerbie swam out and retrieved one child, and that neither Lockerbie nor Shelton made any subsequent attempt to rescue the victim.”
During police interviews, Shelton admitted she could not see the children swimming in the river from where she was standing, and that she could not swim herself. She admitted knowing four of the children were unable to swim, initially claiming all of the children were wearing life vests, but later admitting they were not, according to investigators’ documents.
Lockerbie stated he had allowed the children to swim in an area he claimed to be knee-deep while he was fishing at the mouth of Harmon Creek.
“He was aware there was a drop-off but was not sure where it was,” the report stated. “Lockerbie admitted that upon going out in the river to attempt to retrieve the children, the water was deeper than he thought. Lockerbie admitted that he knew Shelton and four of the other children did not know how to swim. He was not sure as to whether the other children could swim. Lockerbie stated that at the time of the incident they did not have any life vests with them.”
Lockerbie admitted he had never tried to swim in the river.
They were indicted by a Brooke County grand jury in November 2025.