Huntington man charged with Wiggins' murder

HUNTINGTON -- The Cabell County Sheriff's Office executed a warrant Tuesday morning on 20-year-old Matthew Scott Curtis, charging the Huntington man with the first-degree murder in the death Manard Martez Wiggins.

Wiggins, 24, was found shot to death near an embankment along Four Pole Road in rural Cabell County Feb. 24 by two walkers. Chief Deputy Jim Scheidler said Curtis was apprehended five days ago for an unrelated circuit court warrant and has been in the Western Regional Jail since then.

Cabell County Sheriff's Detective Mike Clark said Curtis' involvement was discovered last week through statements and evidence found at the scene.

Curtis was arraigned at about 12:45 p.m. He was told of his charges and that there would be no bail in his case.

The next grand jury meets in May, and Assistant Prosecutor Jane Hustead said she hopes there will be enough DNA evidence to send it to trial.

Wiggins' brother, Eddie, and mother, Bonita Fleming, attended the noon press conference and said they were relieved that a suspect was arrested.

"Everyone thinks it was all about drugs, and they forget who Manard was," Eddie Wiggins said. "He was a brother, a father, a son, an uncle. Nobody knows the real person he was."

Both said they hope anyone convicted of the homicide spends the rest of his life in prison thinking about what he has done.

"I want no mercy," Bonita Fleming said. "They showed no mercy on my son. I want them to think about what they did."