A preliminary hearing on the case of accused murderer and fugitive Ira Wayne Cloniger was held in the Rappahannock County General District Court on Tuesday September 6.

Cloniger is charged with the July 2 murder of Edgar Carlton Fletcher Jr., found stabbed to death in the Gid Brown Hollow Road home of Cloniger's brother, Jerry Cloniger.

The hearing, presided over by Judge Charles B. Foley, was held to determine whether there was probable cause for Ira Wayne Cloniger to go before the Grand Jury for indictment.

After hearing the testimony of two witnesses for the prosecution, Judge Foley found that there was sufficient probable cause to merit a Grand Jury proceeding, which will take place in the Rappahannock County Circuit Court on September 11.

Tuesday's hearing featured extensive testimony from Helen Pierce, 21, who is reportedly Ira Wayne Cloniger's girlfriend and the mother of one of his children. Pierce was present at the violent events of the early morning hours of July 2, and her testimony provided the public with the most detailed glimpse yet into what may have happened that morning in Gid Brown Hollow. Pierce, who is currently incarcerated in Clarke County on several charges including perjury, was transported to the courtroom by police to testify.

Responding to questions from Rappahannock County Commonwealth's Attorney Peter Luke, Pierce recounted the events of July 1 and 2 in a clear but distressed voice, breaking down into tears on at least one occasion.

Pierce was largely unchallenged by Cloniger's defense team. It is usual for only prosecution witnesses to testify at a preliminary hearing, since it is not an actual trial.

According to Helen Pierce's testimony, she was alone and asleep in Ira Wayne Cloniger's home when she was awakened at around 1:30 a.m. by the arrival of Ira Wayne Cloniger, Jerry Cloniger and Edgar Fletcher.

According to both Pierce and Fletcher's family, Ira Wayne Cloniger and Fletcher were close friends, and Cloniger, 43, often referred to the 29-year-old Fletcher as his "son."

Pierce testified that the Cloniger brothers had left the house late on the night of July 1 to pick up Fletcher from Stephens City, and when they arrived back in Gid Brown Hollow all three men were drunk.

"I was upset, and I kept trying to wake Wayne [Cloniger] up, but he wouldn't wake up," said Pierce on the stand. According to Pierce, Jerry Cloniger was also so drunk that he could barely walk, but that Fletcher was more sober.

According to Helen Pierce, once in the house, Fletcher claimed that he and Ira Wayne Cloniger had already agreed that if Fletcher paid him $65, Fletcher would be allowed to have sex with Pierce. According to Pierce, she refused, and Fletcher dropped the matter.

Pierce, Fletcher, and Jerry Cloniger continued to drink for a while in the living room, and Pierce's repeated attempts to rouse Ira Wayne Cloniger from the back of the truck continued to be futile.

Eventually, Pierce went into a bedroom to prepare a bed for Jerry Cloniger, who was still heavily intoxicated. According to Pierce, while she was in the other room, Fletcher came in and raped her. Pierce testified that Fletcher held her down and ignored her repeated refusals. "Eddie [Fletcher] came up from behind me, and he raped me," said Pierce.

The Fletcher family claims that Fletcher and Pierce had a prior sexual relationship, and that before his death, Fletcher and Pierce had engaged in sexual intercourse in front of Ira Wayne Cloniger .According to the RCSO, there is no evidence of prior sexual contact between Fletcher and Pierce, and in any case such contact would not contradict Pierce's testimony.

"I was mad and upset, and I hit him in the legs and he woke up. [Ira Wayne Cloniger] said 'Did he touch you?' and I said 'Yeah, he touched me, he f---ing raped me," said Pierce.

According to Pierce, on hearing this, Ira Wayne Cloniger got up and ran inside the house while she remained outside. Pierce testified that from where she was standing, she could see Ira Wayne Cloniger straddling Fletcher, and threatening him.

According to sources in the RCSO, Fletcher's throat had been cut with a knife. During the manhunt for Ira Wayne Cloniger after Fletcher's death, Sheriff Larry Sherertz said that Cloniger may have been carrying a common folding or pocket knife.

At Tuesday's preliminary hearing, Pierce was repeatedly asked whether she had seen any knives in Ira Wayne Cloniger's truck, or seen him with one. Pierce claimed to have seen a knife laying in the driveway after the murder, shortly after 4 a.m.

According to Pierce's testimony, after she came inside and found Fletcher bleeding heavily, Ira Wayne Cloniger repeatedly asked her to call Cloniger's mother and tell her what happened.

Pierce described accidentally sitting in Fletcher's blood on the couch, and claimed not to remember how Fletcher's body got to the porch of the house, which is where officers from the RCSO eventually discovered it. Luke entered into evidence graphic pictures showing Fletcher laying on the porch, his head and shoulders dangling off the edge. Pierce's testimony seems to indicate that Fletcher was still gasping for air for a short time after he was attacked, but that he eventually died on the porch.

"Eddie stopped breathing on the porch," said Pierce. According to Pierce, Ira Wayne Cloniger kicked Fletcher on the porch once or twice and told him to "wake up," and urinated on Fletcher.

Pierce testified that Ira Wayne Cloniger eventually called his mother and told her "Helen's raped and [Eddie] is dead." Sometime during this period, Pierce also said that she had dialed 911 several times and hung up without speaking.

According to Pierce, Ira Wayne Cloniger told her that he was afraid of the electric chair. At the time of Fletcher's death, Ira Wayne Cloniger was out on bond from Culpeper County, where he is charged with stabbing another man. Pierce added that Ira Wayne Cloniger fled immediately after seeing a police car, driven by RCSO Deputy Leake, pull into the driveway at 4:45 a.m. This was the beginning of an extensive man hunt that would last until 11 p.m. on July 9, when Ira Wayne Cloniger was arrested by Lt. Connie Smith of the RCSO.

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