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Editor's note: This story is part of the Sunday News-Register's continuing coverage of two-time convicted murderer Eugene Blake who now is facing murder charges in Belmont County for the 1982 slaying of Mark Withers.

WHEELING - Maryann Hope Helmbright slipped through the cracks of West Virginia's child protection system. Eugene Blake slipped through the cracks of the state's criminal justice system.

The two came together in Wheeling in the early 1980s. The result was deadly.

Blake raped and murdered 13-year-old Hope Helmbright on Oct. 24, 1984, ending a life that was just beginning. Her murder took place about five years after Blake gained his release from the West Virginia Penitentiary at Moundsville where he had been serving a life sentence for the 1967 murder of Donna Jean Ball in Wayne County, W.Va.

Blake currently is incarcerated at the West Virginia Penitentiary at Mount Olive, serving a life with mercy sentence for Helmbright's murder. He is eligible for parole in 2011.

Blake also was arrested last month for the 1982 murder of Mark Withers in Belmont County. That arrest has prompted Helmbright's family members and friends to come forward and discuss the girl's less-than-ideal home life and also to put a face on the person they knew as "Hopey."

'Out of Sight, Out of Mind'

Hope Helmbright was an elementary school cheerleader who wanted to become a nurse. At 13, she loved to babysit younger children and was interested in helping elderly people. She also worried about something happening to her older brother who was in and out of trouble with the law.

Her brother, Tom, now 38 and living in Wheeling, said his sister was a beautiful girl who everyone wanted to be around.

An aunt, Bonnie Helmbright, said Hope Helmbright was a loving, fun girl, a peacemaker and someone who did a lot for everybody.

Hope Helmbright's death came at a time when she was living part-time with her mother and part-time with her grandmother. She apparently had more freedom at her mother's home than in that of her grandmother.

"She always worried about other people," Tom Helmbright said. "She rode me because I was running the streets and getting into trouble. She was afraid something would happen to me."

Tom Helmbright said his behavior may have contributed to a lack of supervision in his sister's life.

"Everybody in the family was so focused on me and my troubles, Hope kind of fell into an out-of-sight, out-of-mind situation," he said.

Hope Helmbright started running around with older girls, got involved with the wrong crowd and, ultimately, ended up hanging out in the former Silver Fox Bar on Market Street-a place frequented by her mother and managed by Blake.

Tom Helmbright places much of the blame for his sister's death with the state of West Virginia.

"I blame the state," he said. "Hope fell through the cracks of Children's Services and Blake slipped through the cracks of the justice system. That's what brought them together."

Ironically, Hope Helmbright would be responsible for pulling another child from the grips of an unhealthy life.

"She babysat an infant girl who she thought was neglected and badly treated," Tom Helmbright said. "She convinced our mother to take the child in and to eventually adopt her. The baby lived with Hope and our mother for about two years before Hope was killed but the adoption did not happen until about two years later."

Tom Helmbright was unable to explain how an adoption could have been granted to his mother given the state of her finances and lifestyle.

"I don't know how it happened but Sabrina (the adopted girl) is now 26 years old, married and has a family," he said.

Tom Helmbright said he did not know Eugene Blake at the time of the murder but did meet him years later in the Northern Regional Jail at Moundsville.

"I was in there on a domestic charge in 1996 when Blake pleaded guilty to a new charge after the Supreme Court overturned the first conviction. He was in a pod across from mine and I had to look at him every day for 30 days."

Blake apparently was given favorable treatment over Tom Helmbright during that period.

"They handcuffed and shackled me every time I left my cell," he said. "But, Blake was never cuffed or shackled. Many times, he was allowed to walk down the hall unattended by guards. It was torture."

Touching the loves of others

Hope Helmbright's life and death also touched the life of John Nanny, a founding board member and 14-year president of Youth Service Systems Inc. of Wheeling.

Nanny, with a master's degree in the socially and emotionally maladjusted, became involved with Hope Helmbright and her family when he served as director of attendance and social services for Ohio County Schools.

"Hope's case is one of about half a dozen of the roughly 150 I've worked with that still bothers me," he said.

Nanny recognized problems in Hope Helmbright's childhood and his attempts to address them were cut short by her murder.

"I thought the world of her, but I knew she was in imminent danger," Nanny said. "Her mother's lifestyle wasn't conducive to a stable home environment."

Nanny said he was aware of an estranged relationship between the girl's mother, Kristine, and grandmother, Mary, both of whom have since died.

"I was aware the grandmother was trying to get custody," he said. "She was always pursuing custody of the child and Kristine presented resistance. We are always looking for solutions to problems, but some kids fall through the cracks."

Nanny said the custody struggle began about two years prior to the murder, but the grandmother did not have financial resources to take legal action.

"We tried to help her, but Blake got to her before we did," he said. "Mary was devastated."

The murder placed a heavy burden on other surviving family members including Bonnie Helmbright of Wheeling, who said, "Hopey and I were very close."

Bonnie Helmbright lived with Mary Helmbright, which is where Hope Helmbright spent a great part of her life.

"She was here as much as she was with her mother," Bonnie Helmbright said.

Bonnie Helmbright said her niece was a typical child who wanted things the same as any other child, but because of her circumstances she was often unable to have them.

"Hopey really didn't have a childhood," she said. "She seemed fine when she would come and live with us, but she would usually just stay on weekends because she didn't want conflict between her mother and grandmother. She was a peacemaker. Problems arose when she was not staying here because she was spending time in the bar."

Bonnie Helmbright said it was not unusual for Hope Helmbright to be at the bar until the early hours of the morning.

"We heard people say, 'Eugene is a good guy' and he would make sure she got home," she said. "We also heard he wanted to go out with her, but she refused saying 'you're old enough to be my dad.'"

Bonnie Helmbright said Hope Helmbright's activities were motivated by a need for love.

"She was out looking for love," she said. "She was very street-smart. She attended the bar frequently. She was only 13, but when she dressed up she looked older, and back then they didn't ask for identification."

In spite of Hope Helmbright's involvement with people at the bar, she maintained a sense of caring for people.

"She loved to help older people. If someone needed help carrying groceries, she would carry them," Bonnie said.

Ironically, it would be other people who would be called upon to help meet the girl's final needs.

"Because of the financial situation, there was no money to pay for her funeral," Bonnie Helmbright said. "It was made possible through donations from private individuals and from Youth Services Systems Inc."

Nearly 24 years have passed since the murder, but Hope Helmbright's pictures remain in the homes of Bonnie Helmbright and other family members. They serve as reminders of a loving girl whose cheers are no longer heard.

Staff Writer Kelsey Batten contributed to this story