Waterville - A body discovered in Waterville last Friday has been positively identified as that of a wanted fugitive.

Waterville Police chief Joe Massey it was 58-year-old Richard Lawson, who has been wanted by authorities since 2004. Massey says Lawson never showed up for the second day of his trial in a West Virginia federal court. Lawson was charged with use of a firearm by a felon, use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime, and manufacturing methamphetamine.

According to the medical examiner, Lawson died of a heart attack in amongst some buildings behind a convenience store on Kennedy Memorial Drive, but due to the cold weather it's difficult to say how long he had been there. Massey said a carton of milk found next to the body that police theorize belonged Lawson had an expiration date of December 3, 2012.
"The identification was made not just by the fingerprints but when we looked at some of the arrest records they gave tattoos and the fact that he had a missing finger on his left hand, so we were able to positively identify him," Massey said.

Massey said they have no idea what Lawson was doing in Waterville, but Lawson had family in the Corinna area who police did interview. "None of them were expecting him. None of them had heard from him for as much as 10 years," Massey said. "Trying to do some background on him wasn't very successful."

Massey says Waterville Police consider the case closed.

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