Madison Wine was a sixteen year old teen killer who would be convcited of the murders of her parents in a fatal fire
According to court documents Madison Wine would set her adoptive parents, Robert and Charolette Taylor, house on fire killing them and severely injuring a six year old girl.
Madison Wine would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to to two life sentences however due to her age at the time of the murders she will be eligible for parole after 15 years
Madison Wine Now
Offender ID (OID) Number: 3641235
Name: Wine, Madison Alexis
Sex: Female
Birth Date: 2/26/2003
Height: 5′ 2″
Weight: 170 lbs.
Race: White
Location: LCC
Intake Date: 10/27/2022 1:02:00 PM
Maximum Parole Discharge Date: Not Available
Projected Release Date: Not Available
Madison Wine Case
The young woman who was found guilty of murdering her adoptive parents in May 2019 by setting their house on fire received two life sentences, but because she was a minor at the time of the offense she will be eligible for parole in 15 years.
Madison Wine was sentenced Thursday before Judge JD Beane in Wood County Circuit Court.
She was sentenced to two life sentences in the deaths of Robert and Charolette Taylor who died in a fire Wine set on May 5, 2019, at their home in Davisville. She received an additional sentence of 20 years for a charge of arson, 3-15 years for the attempted murder of a minor in the home and a 1-5 year sentence for cruelty to animals for dogs who were killed at the house with a credit of 1,236 days credit for time served. All of the sentences are to run consecutively.
Madison Wine read a statement to the court and the victims where she talked about never having a voice until now and yet she was still speechless.
“Nothing I say is going to change how you feel about me and I have to accept that,” she said. “I wish I could take all of your pain and carry within myself, because I deserve nothing less.
“I don’t know how to apologize for the damage I have caused. I am sorry I have dragged you into this nightmare where you can’t seem to wake up from. I wish I could take it all back.”
She did not feel she was the murderer everyone thought she was and her actions were not intentional, but accidental.
“In a world like this, even accidents have consequences,” Madison Wine said. “Here I am. I am not complaining. I deserve this.
“I deserve every bad thing that is coming to me.”
She didn’t want to ask people not to hate her because that would be too much and she was not asking for forgiveness, because what happened was unforgivable, she said.
“I just want you to know that I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” Wine said, adding she does care about what happened and reiterated it was an accident. She never intentionally set out to hurt anyone.
“I’m not heartless. I do have feelings,” she added. “I miss them and I wish they were here.
“I would take it back in a heartbeat if I could. I put myself here and I need to suffer the consequences.”
Sherri Bee, the ex-wife of Robert Taylor and mother to their three children, said she wanted Wine to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Her family has be traumatized by the crime and will continually deal with the emotional toll from it. She talked about them having to go through a burnt house to find personal belongings and disposing of the remains of three dogs.
She and Rob were married for 23 years and had their ups and downs, but said they were at a point where they were friends. Bee talked about Rob talking about Madison fondly, being proud that she completed high school early and was prepared to help her pay for college, but that the girl had issues with some of the disciplinary measures the Taylors had when she didn’t follow the rules.
“My prayers are that Madison pays to the fullest extent (of the law) for this,” Bee said. “My hope is she will never be paroled.
“My children and grandchildren will have painful memories for the rest of their lives for which they cannot be paroled from. In my opinion, she should never be released into the public.”
Roane County Prosecutor Josh Downey, appointed to represent the state, explained that since Madison Wine was 16 years old and a minor at the time of offense, she would be eligible for parole in 15 years, regardless of the sentence handed down. He reiterated that she would only be eligible for parole and was not guaranteed to get it.
Defense Attorney Ryan Umina asked the court to set aside the verdict and have Madison Wine found not guilty by reason of mental illness in which she would still be remanded to the custody of the state for treatment in a mental health facility. If that was not possible, he requested the verdict to be set aside and have a new trial granted. His argument centered on the expert testimony of two doctors during trial and how the jury was instructed to weigh what they said in their deliberations.
“This was an emotionally charged case,” he said. “No one denies that. It was a horrific tragedy, but it was an accident.”
Downey objected, saying the jury adequately determined their verdict.
Beane denied the motions, saying the jury was instructed to weigh the testimony of experts as much as anyone else.
Defense attorney J. Morgan Leach said they felt there were areas where they could mount an appeal. He said he and Umina wished to remain as Wine’s attorneys and go through that process.
Madison Wine Trial
After three hours of deliberation, a Wood County jury found Madison Wine guilty of four counts of murder and one count each of arson, attempted murder and cruelty to animals after a four-day trial.
Madison Wine was charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and felony murder in the May 2019 deaths of her adoptive parents, Robert and Charolette Taylor; first-degree arson for starting the fire that killed them; the attempted murder of a minor in the house; and cruelty to animals in relation to three dogs that died in the blaze.
Madison Wine was 16 years old at the time of the fire.
Roane County Prosecutor Josh Downey, appointed to represent the state after a defense motion to disqualify the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office was granted due to issues related to the county Sheriff’s Department, explained that first-degree murder is the intentional, willful killing of someone, while the felony murder charge does not require intent, but is caused due to a certain crime, in this case arson.
Madison Wine’s sentencing is scheduled for 11 a.m. June 27. Each of the four murder charges carries a potential life sentence.
Since Wine was a minor while committing the acts, she will be eligible for parole in 15 years, regardless of the sentence she gets, said Downey.
Downey said he felt the jury did a good job listening to the facts that were presented in this case, as well as the deep topics that were discussed.
“I thought we had a strong case; I felt that from the beginning,” he said. “We’re happy with the verdict and it was the right verdict.”
Downey said there weren’t really any surprises during the trial.
“They (the defense) believe strongly in their case, and they did an excellent job defending Madison,” he said. “I think they made any defense that was there.”
Closing arguments were made Wednesday afternoon, and deliberations began Thursday morning.
Downey said he believes the 45-minute statement Wine made to Deputy West Virginia Fire Marshal Jason Baltic was a key part of the case. The jury listened again to the statement Wine made as well as her phone call to 911 at the start of deliberations Thursday.
“I think that helped show a young lady who was in control of her emotions, was in control of her actions,” he said.
During his closing argument, Downey mentioned a 10- to 15-second pause Wine took before answering no in her statement that she made to Baltic, when he asked her if she meant to hurt anyone.
“I’ve been doing this for about 14 years now; I would think that was a strong piece of evidence for the jury,” he said.
The defense argued Wine was not guilty by reason of mental illness. In the closing argument Wednesday, attorney J. Morgan Leach said the traumatic events in Wine’s life resulted in mental illnesses that impacted her ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct on the night that she started the fire.
Madison Wine Links
Madison Wine sentenced to life in prison for the death of her adoptive parents