The woman who admitted to killing three roommates in Virginia before fleeing the state and leading police on a 100-mph chase before crashing her car has been sentenced to nearly a century in prison.
Alyssa Venable, 24, pleaded guilty in February to killing 60-year-old Gregory Scott Powell, 65-year-old Carol Anne Reese, and 77-year-old Robert John McGuire in 2024. According to court records, on Friday, a Spotsylvania Circuit Court judge sentenced Venable to 99 years in a state prison.
She also received an additional 14 years for a felony firearms charge.
The triple murder was discovered on June 4, 2024, when a roommate returned to the home they shared in Fredericksburg — a medium-sized city about 48 miles south of Washington, D.C. — around 10 p.m. and called 911 after finding a body.
Deputies discovered the victims dead and Venable’s car gone.
Authorities informed the public that Venable was armed and dangerous. She was apprehended days later while driving her 2009 Honda Civic on I-86 in Steuben County, in the state’s southwest. She ignored a traffic stop, drove at 100 mph, and crashed after troopers successfully deflated her tires with a tire-deflating device.
During the slayings and Venable’s attempt to evade authorities, her grandmother told local reporters that she believed her granddaughter could also be a danger to herself and was in “desperate need for help.”
She allegedly told a friend that “she hurt people” and left instructions to care for her dog. According to local ABC affiliate WJLA, deputies received a call from someone who knew Venable, who said she dropped off her dog with him and was “acting strange,” citing search warrant documents. Around the same time, deputies were informed that Venable had told her that “she hurt people.” The friend also told investigators about a note Venable left stating that she intended to commit suicide in California, as well as cash, dog care instructions, and account passwords.
According to Spotsylvania General District Court records, Venable has a lengthy criminal history dating back to March 2019, beginning with an alleged shoplifting or price-altering offense. Later that month, the original charge was reduced to one count of entering property and causing damage. In December 2021, she was charged with petit larceny. She had previously been charged with reckless driving, assault, and battery.
