Eugene Blake

Eugene Blake (born February 11, 1945) is an American serial killer who murdered two people in Ohio and West Virginia from 1982 to 1984, shortly after being paroled from a life term for the 1967 murder of a young woman.

Initially linked to only one of these crimes, he was later linked to the 1982 killing and given another life term with parole eligibility, stirring controversy among locals who wished that he remain incarcerated for the rest of his natural life.

Murders Donna Jean Ball On January 16, 1967, 18-year-old Donna Jean Ball, a telephone operator for C&P Telephone, was driving along the West Virginia Route 75 near Ceredo when she was suddenly forced off the road by a man driving a 1958 model Chevrolet. The assailant then stopped his car, approached her and demanded money, and after Ball gave some to him, he proceeded to stab her eight times in the chest and face. His trial began a year later, with the state presenting strong evidence that implicated him in the seemingly unprovoked attack. Blake was eventually convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, to which he soon launched an appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals, arguing that he had not received a fair trial. His appeal was rejected, and he remained incarcerated at the West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville.

Mark Withers During his time in prison, Blake was described as a model inmate who had managed to gain trust with the guards to the extent that he was eventually allowed to visit the prison warden's house. In 1976, Governor of West Virginia Arch A. Moore Jr. commuted his sentence to life with parole for his good conduct while incarcerated, and in February 1979, Blake was paroled. He moved to Morgantown, where he reportedly violated his parole on at least one occasion but was never arrested. In March 1982, he moved to Wheeling, where he eventually obtained a license to run a local bar despite being a felon.

In 1997, he pleaded guilty on all charges relating to the Helmbright murder and was sentenced to a 15-years-to-life term, which he was ordered to serve at the Huttonsville Correctional Center in Huttonsville.

Parole applications In May 2022, Blake applied for parole before the Ohio Parole Board, sparking protests from prosecutors and family members of his victims. In response to this, Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan wrote a response to the Parole Board, pointing out that Blake committed further violent crimes after his first parole, calling him a "monster".

Blake's bid for parole was eventually rejected, and his next scheduled date is for April 2032.