Tamburo murder trial begins next Tuesday

Stephen J. Tamburo III will go on trial in Morgan County Circuit Court on Tuesday, December 7, for allegedly murdering his father, Stephen J. Tamburo, Jr. in December, 2008.

Tamburo, 40, is accused of shooting and killing his father at their home on Shanghai Road and then concealing the body.

He allegedly wrapped the body in a rug, which was dumped in Sleepy Creek Public Hunting Area. The body was found by a mushroom hunter in April, 2009.

Tamburo was arrested four months later at a drug rehabilitation center in Florida. Since returning to West Virginia, he has been held without bond in the Eastern Regional Jail, Martinsburg.

In addition to charges of murder and concealing a dead body, the jury will be considering felony charges of forgery and uttering against Tamburo.

He is accused of forging and passing three checks totaling $2,592 on his father’s account, both before and after the suspected murder date.

Tamburo is also scheduled for trial on Tuesday, January 10, on 15 felony counts of prescription fraud for Lortab and Vicodin in the fall of 2008.

The state’s cases will be presented by Prosecutor Debra McLaughlin.
Tamburo is being defended by Public Defender Deborah Lawson.

Younker trial in February
The man accused of helping Tamburo conceal his father’s body is set for trial on Tuesday, February 8.

Donovan Carl “Donnie” Younker, 28, of Shanghai Road was indicted earlier this year for aiding and abetting Tamburo in hiding the body. He is free on $50,000 bond.

The case against Younker will be prosecuted by Tim Helman, assistant prosecutor in Berkeley County.

Morgan County Prosecutor McLaughlin cannot handle the case because defense attorney Charles Trump said he may call her as a witness since she attended some of the police interviews with Younker.