Update on John Carter case

The retrial of Gurpreet Singh, accused of the 2019 West Chester Twp. killing of his wife and three family members, is scheduled to begin April 29. If convicted, Singh faces the death penalty.

Singh and his third defense team were in Butler County Common Pleas Court in November, where the 41-year-old waived his right to a jury trial in the capital murder trial that is expected to last three weeks.

In October 2023, the jury in Singh’s first case was hung after nearly two weeks of testimony and 14 hours of deliberation. Judge Greg Howard declared a mistrial when the jury indicated it was hung and did not believe any further deliberations would serve a useful purpose.

A death penalty case before a three-judge panel is a rarity. The last one in Butler County was 13 years ago when Greg Osie of West Chester Twp. was convicted by a panel consisting of Judges Noah Powers, Charles Pater and Patricia Oney of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and tampering with evidence for stabbing David Williams to death Feb. 14, 2009.

After the October 2023 mistrial, Singh’s retained attorneys from Rittgers and Rittgers law firm were permitted to withdraw from his case, indicating Singh could no longer pay them. Howard then appointed Washington and Evans, who have specialized training in capital cases, to represent Singh.

Singh represented to the court he was indigent when seeking public funds for experts before his first trial after paying the defense team $250,000. Following the mistrial, he received court-appointed attorneys after indicating he remained indigent.

Months later, Singh was able to retain the latest defense team.

The former truck driver is charged with four counts of aggravated murder for allegedly shooting and killing his wife, Shalinderjit Kaur, 39; his in-laws, Hakikat Singh Pannag, 59, and Parmjit Kaur, 62; and his aunt-in-law, Amarjit Kaur, 58, at a West Chester Twp. apartment on April 28, 2019.

He remains housed in the Butler County Jail without bond.

Robbi Robinson has trial in August

A second capital murder trial is slated to begin Aug. 26 in Butler County Common Pleas Judge Keith Speath’s courtroom for Robbi Robinson who is accused of setting a woman on fire and killing her at her Fairfield Twp. home.

Robinson, 24, is charged with aggravated murder, aggravated arson and felonious assault for the May 11 incident on Arroyo Ridge Court. Robinson was arrested as he attempted to leave the scene on Arroyo Ridge Court.

The victim, Brenda Scott, died of her injuries a few weeks later. Robinson faces the death penalty if convicted.

Robinson, who is being held in lieu of a $1 million bond, was originally scheduled for trial in February 2023 but the defense team requested a continuance, stating investigations and reports from a forensic psychologist, mitigation specialist and investigator would not be completed in enough time to prepare for trial.

Prosecutors say Robinson filled a container with accelerant, took it to an upstairs bedroom, doused the 50-year-old woman with it and lit her on fire. He is also accused of hitting her in the face, knocking out teeth. Scott jumped out a window to escape.

Scott was found on fire in her backyard by a neighbor, who called 911.

Robinson’s initial arraignment in May shed light on some of case details.

The neighbor called 911 and jumped a fence to help the woman.

“I see a little fire next to her and she is laying in the backyard,” the man told the dispatcher. “She is talking to me. She is hurt bad.”

John Carter accused in Katelyn Markham’s death

Last spring, the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office announced an arrest in the cold case death of Fairfield’s Katelyn Markham.

On March 13, John Carter, Markham’s finance’ in 2011 when she disappeared, was indicted by a grand jury for murder. The case that had that received national media attention, including a movie about it, and a large social media following, was again in the spotlight.

Carter, who is free on $1 million bond, is scheduled to go to trial June 24 in Butler County Common Pleas Judge Dan Haughey’s courtroom. The trial is not a capital case but is scheduled for four weeks.

The defense team had filed no motions as of Dec 22. The judge set a filing deadline of Jan. 5 and a pretrial hearing is scheduled for Jan 16.

A motion for a lengthy jury view was filed by the prosecution last month, spanning Butler County to Indiana, where Markham’s body was found. Haughey has not ruled on that motion.

Prosecutors want the jury to go to Carter’s home at the time of the alleged offense on West Scioto Drive in Fairfield, Markham’s townhouse on Dorshire Drive in Fairfield, the location where Markham’s body was recovered on South Big Cedar Road in Franklin County, Ind. and the Carter family farm on Kokomo Hill Road in Franklin County, Ind.

Markham, a free-spirited art student, was just days away from her 22nd birthday when she vanished in August 2011 from her Fairfield townhouse. Her skeletal remains were found April 7, 2013, in a remote, wooded area in Indiana about 30 miles from her home. Her death was ruled a homicide, but the cause of death has not been determined.

It remained unsolved until March 2023 when an 18-month investigation by the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office resulted in Carter’s arrest.

The “bill of particulars” filed by the prosecution involve Carter’s changing statements about scratches on his face and the determination from Markham’s remains that she had sharp force trauma to her left wrist.

Specifically, the bill of particulars states: “During the late hours of Aug. 13, 2011, through the early morning hours of Aug. 14, 2011, starting in the area of 5214 Dorshire Drive in the city of Fairfield, Butler County, Ohio, John Carter by physical violence and by force did cause the death of Katelyn Markham.”

The bill continues with: “Around 8 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2011, the Fairfield Police responded to the report of a missing person and saw multiple scratches on John Carter’s neck. When John Carter was confronted about the scratch marks he told officers that they came from shaving with his electric razor attachment. Later John Carter said he scratched himself on the neck and then said he doesn’t know how the scratches happened. On April 7, 2013, the remains of Katelyn Markham were discovered with incised wounds from sharp force trauma to the left wrist area.”

Markham’s death has been ruled a homicide by an Indiana coroner based on the totality of circumstances surrounding her disappearance and how her remains were found. But a cause of death could not be determined.

What happened to Markham and how she died has remained a mystery for years, despite a $100,000 reward and the efforts of multiple police agencies, private detectives, television shows and a movie.

Indiana State Police and at least two private detectives also investigated the case with no arrests — just lots of theories.

Markham’s disappearance was treated as a missing person case by Fairfield police when she vanished from her Dorshire Drive residence. She did not show up for work at David’s Bridal near Tri-County Mall.

Carter called 911 to report her missing.

Markham left her car, keys, dog and all personal belongings, with the exception of her cell phone, at her townhouse. Her cell phone was turned off at about 12:45 a.m. on Aug. 14, 2011. The GPS device on her phone also was turned off.