UPDATE: Bond Set At $2 Million For Man Charged In Chillicothe Murder
A $2 million bond was set for Donnie Couchenour Jr., 27, by a Ross County judge on Wednesday morning. Couchenour has been charged in the murder of a woman found hanging from a fence near North Brownell Street in Chillicothe on Tuesday morning.
Original Report:
Chillicothe police arrested a man accused of murdering a woman found hanging from a fence.
A neighbor discovered her body Tuesday morning.
Police said she was found hanging from a fence near Hardin Drive and North Brownell Street in Chillicothe.
27-year-old Donnie Couchenour Jr. was arrested around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday without incident. He was taken to the Ross County Jail on one count of murder.
Chillicothe police have been investigating the murder since 8:30 a.m. They received a call that an I.D. had been found on the ground at a dead end on North Rose Street. The 911 caller said he found shoes, a cell phone, and an I.D.
Neighbors who spotted the body said the woman was hanging by her hand and it looked like she was beaten.
"Her hand was up there like she had been either placed on the fence or smashed into the fence somehow. Her sleeve had gotten caught up there or something, but she had no shoes, nothing. And where I could see you couldn't tell if it was male or female, or what it was. It was just that bad," said witness Sasha Taylor.
Couchenour is being held without bond. Police have not released the victim's identity, but said they do not believe this death is connected to the deaths and disappearances of six other women in Ross County.
Investigators said the victim is not one of the missing women and the murder is not related to any current, open investigation at this time.
Chillicothe police say an autopsy will be performed on the victim Wednesday.
Mothers of Missing Ross County Women Pleading For Answers
Meanwhile, the families of those other women stood at the Chillicothe Police Department Tuesday evening to release balloons into the sky for their missing or dead children. They're asking for support and answers about what is happening in their community.
Even though the sound of police sirens drowned out the prayer, the hope that came from a vigil overpowered the noise.
"Someone knows something. There has to be a break somewhere. It's just been too long," Yvonne Boggs, the mother of missing Charlotte Trego, said.
The mothers want to remind the Chillicothe community there are still two women missing their town, and they are still pleading for answers.
"They need to come out and support us. We need that. We need to know that they care," Diana Willett said.
Both Yvonne Boggs and Diana Willett still hold onto hope their daughters are alive. Charlotte Trego and Wanda Lemons have been missing for more than year.
"It's an everyday struggle, and the longer it is the harder it is. It's getting to the point where I can't hardly handle it," Willett said.
Willett found out about the woman found dead Tuesday morning on the internet. She thought it was her daughter, Wanda.
"It just goes right through you. Is that my baby? Is that my girl," Willett said.
"It just seems strange if you sit back and look at when this started. One come up missing, one come up dead. And that's how it's been," Boggs said.
Stay with 10TV and refresh 10TV.com for updates on this investigation.