An Alabama man, who was arrested in the New River Valley six years ago, will spend life in prison for a 2006 murder of Auburn University student. Derrill Richard Ennis, 41, had been a person of interest in the case, but it wasn’t until a cold case investigator reexamined the missing person and possible homicide that they zeroed in on him.
Ennis had moved away after the 2006 slaying of Lori Ann Slesinski. The two had been in a relationship.
Police had lost track of Ennis until they found him to the Pilot area of Montgomery County. He had been building yurts for a Floyd County company when he was arrested.
The Alabama prosecutor had initially sought the death penalty, but this past week agreed to the judge’s decision for life without parole.
At the center of the case was the fact that the body of Slesinski has never been found. Ennis has maintained he did not kill her nor hid her body.
Virginia State investigators searched the Montgomery County property where Ennis had been living. Nothing was ever discovered.
Prosecutors say the co-ed was killed when she turned down romantic advances from the defendant. The case had been delayed several times after the Covid outbreak.
Her vehicle was found burned and abandoned just days after her disappearance. DNA samples from Slesinski’s home were linked to Ennis, who admitted to having consensual sex with her on or around the day of her disappearance. He said Slesinski left to purchase drugs.
During the trial, he also accused investigators of planting evidence.
Staff report
