BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — A Martin County man who pleaded guilty last week to unlawfully imprisoning his wife in a camper in May 2023 has been ordered to pay half the funeral costs for his late wife, who died a month after the incident inside the same camper.
According to court records dated July 2, Justin Marcum, 37, pleaded guilty to second-degree unlawful imprisonment. He received a 12-month sentence, but Martin District Judge John T. Chafin placed him on two years probation, requiring him to complete drug court and pay half the funeral costs of his wife, Christina Salyers Marcum.
Chief Deputy Chris Kidd of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office arrested Marcum on May 31, 2023. Kidd went to a residence on Fitch Branch Road in Inez for a welfare check and found 40-year-old Christina Salyers Marcum trapped inside a camper. The camper had padlocks on both exit doors, and its windows were covered with wood and metal.
Christina Marcum, who had no phone or means to communicate with the outside world, told police her husband imprisoned her due to his “extreme jealousy.”
Marcum appeared in court June 5, 2023, and pleaded not guilty to the charge. His bond was amended and he was ordered to have “no unlawful contact” with his wife and to complete outpatient drug treatment through Addiction Recovery Care.
On June 30, 2023, Christina Marcum was found dead inside the camper with Justin Marcum present.
Marcum was arrested July 5, 2023, for violating probation related to “a prior misdemeanor offense.”
Records from the Kentucky Department of Corrections indicate Marcum has three prior felony convictions along with two misdemeanors. He was convicted Nov. 1, 2018, of a felony drug possession charge and two misdemeanor charges. Two additional felony convictions date back to 2016 and 2015 and include drug trafficking and tampering with physical evidence.
Marcum’s DOC supervision began Dec. 22, 2016, and is scheduled to end Jan. 5, 2027. He is classified as a “moderate risk.”
Marcum has an extensive arrest record with at least 23 arrests since 2005. In October 2018, he was arrested for fourth-degree assault (dating violence) causing minor injury.
Christina Marcum grew up in Louisa and moved to Inez with Justin Marcum around 2018, according to her family members.
The Kentucky State Police investigated Christina Marcum’s death but did not release a statement. Family members said police informed them that a lethal dose of methamphetamine was present in her body at the time of her death.