On Tuesday, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth Attorney’s office  announced the arrest of a suspect for a 2016 murder. Kenneth Edward Gearhart has been charged for the murder of Everett O’Dell Bivins Jr. in Fieldale.

On August 8, 2016 the Henry County 911 Center received a call about a dead body that had been found in an abandoned house in the 5000 block of Appalachian Drive. When deputies arrived on scene they located decomposed remains near a wooded area.

The autopsy determined the remains were Bivins Jr. and the matter of death was determined to be a homicide. Bivins Jr. had been reported missing on August 5, 2016 and had last been seen on August 1.

Gearhart has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of aggravated murder of a witness, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a violent felon. Gearhart was served with the indictments on Monday at the Keen Mountain Correctional Facility in Buchanan.

Gearhart was arrested in 2019 for 14 narcotics related charges and was sentenced to 95 years in prison. Gearhart faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on the three charges issued on Monday.