Dean D Metheny Gravesite

Dean Metheny was the son of Lewis Russell Metheny (1912-1993) and Pauletta Pearl Metheny (1916-1945) and had three sisters, including Lillian Pearl (1941-1987) and Mary Jean (born in 1935). In the 1940 federal census, Dean was 2 years old and living with his grandfather and parents in Grant West Virginia. His grandfather, Russell, was the head of household and worked as a carpenter. Also in the home were siblings Mary, Patricia, and Joan. Dean's father, Lewis, worked as a farmer at the time. Dean was mute and had an intellectual disability which caused him to act like a young child and occasionally become aggressive. He lived at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, which later became known as the Weston State Hospital that operated from 1864 until 1994. Some rather horrific stories and documentation show that treatment of the patients was particularly cruel. Dean lost his life in what would be known as the "Bed Post Murder" in 1987. He was a patient in Ward F which housed the more violent patients. After coloring for most of the day under nurse supervision, he found himself alone with 25yr old David Mason and 30 year old James Woods. The two hung Dean with a bed sheet, repeatedly raising and lowering him. They also brutally beat Dean in between being raised and lowered. See WESTON PATIENT DIES AFTER FIGHT; SECOND DEATH WITHIN A MONTH for details. Both men were later charged with murder but never tried as they were deemed incompetent to stand trial. Another account of Dean's murder can be found at Murder of Dean Metheny. The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is believed to be haunted and has attracted the interest of numerous paranormal researchers.