A Butler County grand jury indicted French for allegedly killing Barbara Howe, who was slain in October 2012. He is facing charges of aggravated murder with death penalty specifications, aggravated burglary and robbery, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Howe’s daughter, Donna Wesselman, wiped away tears as she hugged Monroe Detective Gregg Myers before he stepped to the podium with Monroe Police Chief Bob Buchanan during a news conference Thursday.
Myers has investigated the case from the beginning.
In September 2013, Myers told this newspaper that there was a person of interest in the case. On Thursday, he confirmed that person was French, but said little else about the case or the investigation.
Wesselman said she never lost hope her mother’s killer would be found because Myers kept her and her family informed every step of the way.
“If it weren’t for Gregg Myers … he kept me sane through all of this,” Wesselman said.
The Blue Ash woman said Myers once described the case and investigation as “like working on an all-white puzzle, and you only have the corner pieces.”
She said she was aware the case was presented to the grand jury, but did not get word from Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser about the indictment until minutes after French was arrested Wednesday.
“Yesterday was the day I have waited for, for over two years,” Wesselman said. “I just feel like a weight has been lifted off my back.”
While there will be months of waiting for criminal proceedings for French, Wesselman said for her the arrest was closure.
“Our mother was wonderful. She was just a beautiful, wonderful person … so full of life,” Wesselman said. “If there is a silver lining, I am left with wonderful memories of my mother.”
Buchanan said the arrest is the result of a collaborative effort of many different agencies and citizens of the city.
Myers was specifically recognized by the chief for his work.
“Gregg has worked on this case since the very beginning and has worked tirelessly to bring the case to this point. He will tell you that he has been assisted by so many professionals throughout this investigation, and this is true; but without his efforts, it is my opinion that this case would have remained unsolved,” Buchanan said.
Gmoser called the crime one of the most heinous he has seen in his career.
“The shear brutality and diabolical nature of this case really is unparalleled in the history of this county,” Gmoser said. “In my 40-some years of being an attorney here, I’ve never seen anything as horrific as this in the planning and the diabolical nature. It really is an unusual case.”
Howe was last seen alive Oct. 27, 2012, when she left her cottage at Mount Pleasant Retirement Village in Monroe. She was found dead four days later in the trunk of her red Cadillac that was abandoned in the parking lot of Woodridge Apartments in Middletown.
Gmoser remained tight-lipped about information surrounding the case on Thursday and did not attend the news conference.
Howe’s cause of death was never released, and Gmoser said that information will not be revealed until it is presented at trial.
French’s arrest was made public Wednesday afternoon when he was taken into custody about 1:55 p.m. Middletown police Detectives Rich Bush and Jon Hoover, along with Assistant Prosecutor Brad Burress traveled to Kentucky to make the arrest. French was booked into the Rockcastle County Kentucky Detention Center shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday.
French will appear in a Kentucky courtroom for an extradition hearing and could be arraigned on the charges by the middle of next week. The case is assigned to Butler County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer McElfresh. Gmoser said he will try the case with Burress.
A background check of French indicates he has ties to Middletown, living at several addresses there as well as Franklin dating back to 1990. The most recent was on Bonita Drive in May 2012. He has no criminal background in Butler County, according to police and a public records search by this newspaper. The only court cases involving him are for civil matters and two divorces.
In a written statement, Stan Kappers, the executive director at Mount Pleasant, said French met employment requirements and passed a background check and screening that included finger printing and a felony and misdemeanor criminal convictions and driver’s licence record check though an independent third party provider.
“I am personally sickened by the thought that anyone previously associated with this community could have been involved in this tragic crime,” Kappers said in the statement.
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