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Man arrested for 2016 Dolly Sods killing nearly a full decade later

PETERSBURG, W.Va. (WDTV) — A man has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder for the 2016 killing of a man whose remains were found in Dolly Sods.

Richard William Nichols is charged with first-degree murder in Grant County for the death of Ivan “Vanya” Perlis, according to a criminal complaint filed May 7 that issued a warrant for his arrest. He was just recently arrested in Indiana, according to the Grant County Press.

According to investigators, a hunter found human remains off Brushy Ridge Road in Dolly Sods near Maysville on Nov. 12, 2016. The remains were later identified as Perlis.

Investigators say Perlis’ skull showed three gunshot wounds to the back of the head. Ballistic testing determined fragments recovered from the skull were three .22-caliber bullets, according to the complaint.

Nichols was identified as a suspect because of his ties to Perlis, the complaint states. Both men had been staying on property in the Dry Fork area of Tucker County in the months before Perlis disappeared, with Perlis living in a garage and Nichols living in a camper.

Investigators say Nichols’ accounts of when he last saw Perlis changed repeatedly during interviews, and a polygraph examination in May 2017 indicated deception on questions about whether Perlis left with another man in Dolly Sods and whether Perlis was alive the last time Nichols saw him.

In later interviews, a witness told investigators he saw Nichols and Perlis leave together in Nichols’ truck toward Dolly Sods and saw Nichols return alone several hours later in different clothing, the complaint states. The witness told investigators Nichols said he put three bullets in Perlis’ head and had to burn his blood-stained clothes.

Nichols is currently in the Potomac Highlands Regional Jail with no bond set at this time.

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