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Man stabbed to death; stepson charged

Victim was stabbed more than 40 times.

Charles S. Zan II was stabbed more than 40 times and died Saturday, Oct. 17.

Authories approved charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, felonious assault and tampering with evidence against the stepson of murder victim Charles Zan, 45, of Miamisburg. Zan’s stepson, Cody Henderson (pictured), was arrested just before 3 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009.

Montgomery County Sheriff's office Authories approved charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, felonious assault and tampering with evidence against the stepson of murder victim Charles Zan, 45, of Miamisburg. Zan’s stepson, Cody Henderson (pictured), was arrested just before 3 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Charles Zan II, in the far left picture with his wife Pandora Zan, was stabbed to death Saturday, Oct. 17. Zan's stepson, Cody Henderson, is pictured in the photo on the far right.

MySpace page of Pandora Zan Charles Zan II, in the far left picture with his wife Pandora Zan, was stabbed to death Saturday, Oct. 17. Zan's stepson, Cody Henderson, is pictured in the photo on the far right.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Tom Beyerlein and Tim Tresslar
Staff Writers Updated 6:10 AM Thursday, October 22, 2009

MIAMISBURG — The Montgomery County prosecutor’s office Wednesday, Oct. 21, approved charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, felonious assault and tampering with evidence against the stepson of a state prison guard who was stabbed more than 40 times in his home.

Prosecutor’s spokesman Greg Flanagan said officials haven’t decided whether to seek the death penalty for Cody Henderson, 19, of Middletown, who is charged with killing Charles S. Zan II, 45, on Saturday.

Henderson is being held in the Montgomery County Jail. Flanagan said he expects Henderson to be arraigned in Miamisburg Municipal Court Thursday morning.

Prosecutors approved charges of aggravated murder while committing aggravated robbery, aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, felonious assault and tampering with evidence, Flanagan said.

Zan, who resided at the Guest Suites Apartments, Apt. 19, 7123 Springboro Pike in Miamisburg, was stabbed to death at about 6 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, according to Miamisburg Police Sgt. Tom Thompson.

Zan was hired in July 1994 as a corrections officer at the Warren Correctional Institution near Lebanon, where he worked at the time of his death, according to a state prisons spokeswoman.

Thompson said police received a 911 call from Zan’s wife, Pandora Zan. During the call she can be heard talking about a break-in, saying she had been hit on the head and that when she came to she found her husband stabbed to death.

Thompson said police arrested Zan’s stepson Cody Henderson just before 3 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. Henderson did not live with the mother and stepfather, Thompson said.

Further information will be made available once police finish talking with the prosecutor’s office today, Thompson said.

Dr. Jim Davis, the Montgomery County coroner, said Wednesday that Zan was stabbed more than 40 times, including in the throat. An autopsy was conducted on Zan on Sunday and the death was declared a homicide, Davis said.

According to the coroner’s office, the estimated time of death for Zan was 6 a.m.

Zan served in several branches of the military, according to his obituary published in the Dayton Daily News.

Public records show the Zans lost their Miami Twp. home to foreclosure, and it was sold at sheriff’s sale last year.

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