Sarah Maynard -- Found Alive 11/14/10; Kody Maynard, Tina Herrmann and Stephanie Sprang -- Found Deceased 11/18/10

~Snipped~
The bodies were found in trash bags, inside a 65-foot beech tree in a forested section of the Kokosing Lake Wildlife Area north of Fredericktown.

Authorities explained yesterday that the opening for the hollow tree was near the top, not at the bottom, and that the bodies had been dropped down into the tree.

To accomplish his horrific deeds took a lot of time.

Coroner: Knox County Women, Boy Stabbed To Death

Saturday, November 20, 2010 2:11 PM
Updated: Saturday, November 20, 2010 2:31 PM

HOWARD, Ohio — A coroner released new information on Saturday into the deaths of two women and a boy, whose remains were discovered earlier this week in a hollow tree in rural Knox County.

A preliminary report from the Knox County Coroner's office said that Tina Herrmann, 32; her son, Kody Maynard, 11; and family friend Stephanie Sprang, 41, each died on Nov. 10 of multiple stab wounds to the chest and back.

The report also said that each victim was dismembered after being killed.

The coroner said that authorities were still working to determine the exact location of each person's death. A final coroner's report was expected to be completed in 6-8 weeks

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2010/11/20/story-mount-vernon-knox-county-coroner-report.html?sid=102

My god, they suffered a horrible and painful death...
This is just beyond disturbing, so vicious and cruel.

Just updated, there were no signs of sexual assault. Barbaric and evil, I can't imagine the terror.

That information was released in a notice offered by Knox County Coroner :

NBC 4 is printing that release in its entirety.

”The preliminary autopsies are complete for Tina Herrmann, Stephanie Sprang and Kody Maynard.

The most challenging and heartbreaking thing I have had to do as coroner is discuss these findings with the families of the deceased victims. The truth is often unspeakable, and I sincerely feel for their loss and commend them for their strength and dignity moving forward in this tragedy.

On November 18 (Thursday) , 2010 at approximately 3:30 p.m. the bodies of Kody Maynard (11), Stephanie Sprang (41), and Tina Herrmann (31) were discovered on the Kokosing Lake State Wildlife Area in Knox County, Ohio. The bodies were carefully removed from a hollow tree by investigators where they had been placed inside large plastic garbage bags

The preliminary autopsy results conducted at the Licking County Coroner's Office indicate:

"On Wednesday November 10th, all three were attacked with a knife and stabbed multiple times in the back and chest causing fatal exsanguination of blood from their chest cavities. Smaller non-fatal wounds were also noted. Pending further tests, there were no signs of sexual assault. Sometime after death, the bodies were dismembered. They were then placed inside large plastic garbage bags and later lowered into the hollow of a large tree. The location of the deaths is pending further tests."

Our entire community has been wounded in this tragedy and words can't describe the sorrow felt by all. However, I have seen this community rise up and challenge itself to greatness since the beginning of this ordeal. Although I am biased, Knox County is one of the warmest, kindest, and most beautiful communities I have ever witnessed, and I firmly believe that no one person can ever steal that away from us.

The final coroner’s report from the Knox Coroner's Office will be completed once the full forensic autopsy report is completed by Dr. Jeff Lee of the Licking County Coroner’s Office - with much appreciation. This usually takes six to eight weeks. I would also like to thank all of law enforcement for their incredible and heroic work on this case. The story of Sarah Maynard's rescue will forever be remembered as an example of extraordinary detective work and bravery. They deserve our continued support and admiration. Our community and the grieving families should know that the Knox County Coroner’s Office will be working diligently to ensure justice is served and the deceased are treated with dignity and respect.

No further information regarding this case will be released at this time.

Dr. J.F. Ogle”

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/nov/20/knox-county-victims-stabbed-dismembered-ar-297803/

~Snipped from above~

Authorities have said all three were killed in Herrmann's home in Howard, about 40 miles northeast of Columbus, in a lakefront neighborhood called Apple Valley.

Joe Pejsa, 45, said the family was told by investigators that the remains of the family dog - a miniature pinscher named Tanner - were found in the tree along with the bodies.

Pejsa, the uncle of Herrmann's former live-in boyfriend, said he was the first person allowed inside the home after investigators cleared the scene. He said he brought bottles of bleach to clean blood from the bathroom so that his nephew wouldn't have to see it.

"It was terrible," he said of the blood. "Everything led back to the bathroom."

Pejsa said the family has been moving some of the furniture out of the home and has hired a company to gut some of the rooms.

"Greg has no intention of coming back to this place," he said of Herrmann's former live-in boyfriend, Greg Borders, who is staying with Pejsa.

Pejsa said the family believed someone was watching them before they were killed. Several months ago, they saw a man in camouflage sitting on a stump across the street watching them, he said. "There would be knocks at the door and people would take off," Pejsa said outside Herrmann's home.

He said Borders couldn't say for sure if the man on the stump was Hoffman, but he thought it was him.

It doesn't sound like the deputy checked inside the house Wednesday night. It's sad to think that Hoffman may have been inside with his victims when the deputy came by and knocked on the door.

I agree J4a, and they may have been saved.

I don't know, this guy sounds so nuts, I think he might have killed the deputy at the door too.

Sadly, he was inside the house when her manager drove by the first time, and when the deputy went to the house they were probably already murdered. Just because you see her car in driveway and lights on, but no one answers the door, doesn't mean everything is okay. Her manager was right, something was very wrong. In my opinion, he should have checked it out further. If someone is reported missing and there's no answer at their door, something is probably wrong. I kind of think he was in the house before Sarah and Kody got home from school. In the manner that he killed them, I can't see him taking on 4 people at once with a knife. The victims were all small, I think Stephanie only weighed 110 pounds, and Tina was 122. It wouldn't have taken much for him to overtake them one on one. Then there's Kody, just a little boy.

~Snipped~

On the second day, Haythorn went to check on Herrmann. At Herrmann's home, Haythorn said, she climbed in the back window because the front door was locked. Once inside, she discovered a significant amount of blood.

"It was enough blood there that I knew there was a problem," she told The Associated Press on Friday. "Nobody cut their finger in that house."

Haythorn immediately called authorities. The search for four missing people began in earnest after her Nov. 11 visit.

Tina's manager is lucky he still wasn't in the house when she had to climb in that back window. She should never have had to do that, the police should have went in the night before. But she knew something was terribly wrong and didn't give up. He was given plenty of time to carry these gruesome murders out.

I agree that Hoffman was probably already in the house when Sarah and Kody got home from school. I think it was mentioned in an article somewhere that Sarah saw Kody and Tina still alive sometime on Wednesday while Hoffman was there, but she never saw Stephanie.

I wish there was a way the deputy could have called for backup and went in the house, but I've seen it mentioned by some that not showing up for work one day and not answering your door isn't enough probable cause for the cops to enter your house.

This is absolutely horrible...I can't imagine a person so filled with hatred that he'd slaughter these people this way...I hope and pray that Sarah didn't have to endure watching him or even hear the agonizing utterances of the victims...She certainly was tramatized and I pray that she can heal from this...

Murder suspect was long 'on a bad path'
Matthew J. Hoffman has a history of risk-taking, creepiness, plus an arson conviction

Sunday, November 21, 2010 03:02 AM
By Randy Ludlow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - In the days ahead of his 30th birthday, not much was going right in Matthew J. Hoffman's already troubled life.

He and his girlfriend, who accused him of choking her during an argument at his home on Oct. 24, had broken up. She feared she might die.

A few days later, he lost his part-time tree-trimming job at Fast Eddy's after creeping out his supervisor and overselling his experience.

Money was a constant concern. Besides the bills accompanying day-to-day life, he owed $2 million in restitution for setting fire to a condominium complex in Colorado.

Even his dog had run away.

But all that still doesn't explain how an odd man became a mass-murder and kidnapping suspect with 13-year-old Sarah Maynard tied up in his basement.

Criminologists say triggers such as a job loss or the end of a relationship can ignite a buried fuse that burns into violence, even murder.

In his jail cell in Mount Vernon, the most-reviled man in Knox County cried last Sunday, the evening of his arrest. He threatened to harm himself and is under suicide watch, with deputies checking on him every 10 minutes.

Hoffman, who turned 30 on Nov. 1, had not gone out of his way to cultivate many friends over three decades. He basically kept to himself.

Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/11/21/murdersuspectwaslongonabadpath.html?

~Snipped~
"Hoffman's friend, who asked not to be named, said he was not surprised that the bodies of those snatched from Apple Valley were found inside the 65-foot-tall tree.

Early last week, the man told the sheriff's office and The Dispatch that searchers should be looking up trees, in trees, follow the trees. The friend said Hoffman was a strategic thinker. He doubted that Hoffman just stumbled across the tree.

Matthew John Hoffman is the son of Robert and Patricia Hoffman. He grew up in the Warren area in northeastern Ohio, moving with his mother to Knox County in 1997 when his parents divorced"

He's crazy as a loon, and pure evil, that's for sure. And to have such a deep fascination with trees is so weird, it's not surprising that's where he disposed of them. He also hails from Warren, OH. That's where the Anthony's are from.

Knox Co. Community Reeling From 'Evil Personified'

Monday, November 22, 2010 6:17 AM
Updated: Monday, November 22, 2010 8:36 AM
WBNS-10TV

HOWARD, Ohio — Two slain Knox County women and a boy will be laid to rest this week as their accused killer prepares to face a judge and a community continues to cope with the tragedy surrounding the case.

The family of Tina Herrmann and her son, Kody Maynard, will receive friends on Tuesday at Peace Lutheran Church in Gahanna, from 2-4 p.m, and from 6-9 p.m.

Their funeral will be held Wednesday.

The family of the third victim, Stephanie Sprang, will receive friends and family from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday at Flowers-Snyder funeral home in Mount Vernon.

The mother of three will be buried during a private ceremony on Wednesday.

The weekend brought little solace for a community trying to cope and understand why the three were killed, 10TV's Glenn McEntyre reported.

Read more:
http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2010/11/22/story-howard-three-slain-community-coping.html?

Justice4all wrote:Murder suspect was long 'on a bad path'

Matthew J. Hoffman has a history of risk-taking, creepiness, plus an arson conviction

Sunday, November 21, 2010 03:02 AM
By Randy Ludlow
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Even his dog had run away.

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuure, his dog "ran away".

Thanks Piper & J4A for all the updates.

Mama, I had thought the same thing. I sure hope that little girl did not have to witness such a horrendous crime.

Sick.

Hoffman Waives Hearing; Community Shows Support For Victims

By Patrick Preston
Published: November 22, 2010



MOUNT VERNON, Ohio --

Attorneys for Matthew Hoffman have waived his right to a preliminary hearing scheduled fo Tuesday. Hoffman is being held in the Knox County Jail on a $1 million bond. He is charged with the kidnapping of Sarah Maynard and is the lone suspect in the killings of Kody Maynard, Tina Herrmann, and Stephanie Sprang.

By waiving the preliminary hearing, the case against Hoffman will move from Mount Vernon Municipal Court to Knox County Court of Common Pleas. Knox County Prosecutor John Thatcher said he may present additional charges against Hoffman within four to six weeks.

Read more: http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/nov/22/hoffman-waives-hearing-community-shows-support-vic-ar-299839/

Accused Knox County Kidnapper Waives Hearing

Monday, November 22, 2010 6:20 PM
WBNS-10TV

~Snipped~

The family of Tina Herrmann and her son, Kody Maynard, will receive friends on Tuesday at Peace Lutheran Church in Gahanna, from 2-4 p.m, and from 6-9 p.m.

Their funeral will be held Wednesday.

The family of Stephanie Sprang will receive friends and family from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday at Flowers-Snyder funeral home in Mount Vernon.

The mother of three will be buried during a private ceremony on Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2010/11/22/story-mount-vernon-matthew-hoffman-waives-court-knox-county.html?

Chief: Suspicious fire at Ohio home where 3 slain

Published November 23, 2010
Associated Press

Authorities are investigating what they call a suspicious fire that broke out at a central Ohio home where two women and an 11-year-old boy were stabbed to death before their remains were placed in a tree.

Eastern Knox County Joint Fire District Chief Larry Stimpert says firefighters were sent Monday night to the Howard home of Tina Herrmann, where they found the porch on fire.

Stimpert says the fire was quickly contained. He says it burned the porch and melted some siding but didn't extend inside the home.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/23/chief-suspicious-ohio-home-slain/

Family of slain Ohio mother, boy: Thanks to nation

(AP) – 3 hours ago

GAHANNA, Ohio (AP) — The family of a mother and son who were stabbed to death and whose remains were found in a tree in central Ohio are thanking the nation for its "outpouring of love, prayers and support."

The statement was released to the media Tuesday by relatives of Tina Herrmann and her 11-year-old son, Kody Maynard, as a visitation service started at a church in Gahanna, a Columbus suburb.

The remains of Herrmann, her son and another woman were found last week in a hollow tree trunk in a wildlife preserve about a 20-mile drive from Herrmann's home in Howard.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jz9UvhlSLmvoVkSaha4nM6wKjqTQ?docId=2ce4b81298f84ceb9124cebbfaf8e198

A tearful goodbye for Knox County victims

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 02:56 AM
By Allison Manning and Elizabeth Gibson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Two lines of mourners visited two families yesterday to pay respects to the three victims of a heinous homicide case.

In Gahanna, 13-year-old Sarah Maynard, the sole survivor of a seemingly random kidnapping that took the lives of her mother and brother, received hugs at Peace Lutheran Church.

Read more:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/11/24/a-tearful-goodbye.html?sid=101

They are being laid to rest today, what a sad day for these families.

Fire at Ohio home where 3 were slain ruled arson

The Associated Press
Wednesday, November 24, 2010; 12:34 PM

HOWARD, Ohio -- Authorities say someone set a fire at an Ohio home where police say two women and an 11-year-old boy were stabbed to death before their remains were placed in a tree.

The State Fire Marshal's office has determined that the Monday night fire at the Howard home of Tina Herrmann was arson.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/24/AR2010112403623.html

Horrific killings raise perplexing issue of evil
Psychologists, clergy struggle to explain Knox County crime

Friday, November 26, 2010 02:54 AM
By Meredith Heagney
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Many people, upon hearing about the horrific violence inflicted on two Knox County women and an 11-year-old boy, have asked the simple, but perhaps unanswerable, question: How could anyone do this?

Each detail about the deaths of Stephanie Sprang, Tina Herrmann and Herrmann's son, Kody Maynard, was more awful than the last. Their killer not only stabbed them to death, but also dismembered them and stashed their bodies in a hollow tree.

The police could explain the chain of events, and the coroner could provide the autopsy reports. But no one could answer the real question on everyone's mind:

How could anyone be so evil?

Throughout history, people have tried to answer that question. Religion, psychology and criminology all have their theories, but a definitive answer is elusive.

Now, it is Knox County suspect Matthew J. Hoffman's turn under the microscope.

Those who study killers say their profiles often contain common threads. The killers might have been mistreated themselves. They might abuse drugs or alcohol. Their childhoods might have been so dysfunctional that they didn't develop morals. They might have a severe mental illness or another biological block to empathizing with others. They often live in a fantasy world where victims are pawns, not people.

Those psychological answers don't satisfy, of course, so clergy members try to make sense of the senseless. They have a hard time, too.

Read more:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/faith_values/stories/2010/11/26/horrific-killings-raise-perplexing-issue-of-evil.html?sid=101

Local Auction Helps Knox Co. Victims' Families

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Attorney: Ohio slayings suspect off suicide watch

December 8, 2010

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The only suspect in a kidnapping and triple-slaying in a rural Ohio community is off suicide watch and maintaining a positive attitude in jail, his lawyer said Wednesday.

A grand jury that met this week did not indict Matthew Hoffman, but additional charges could come soon, defense attorney Bruce Malek said.

"I would certainly hope and expect that any indictment be brought at the earliest opportunity," Malek said. "It serves no purpose to delay that grand jury."

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5huXCYvev3XyjMdK0L_r3IsRzjkiA?docId=9b36c15002404cf29bd8901bcfa5746f

Yep, he's reading books and watching TV, no one has to check on him every 10 minutes. He hasn't been released into general population of the jail, so he's still being protected. He's a freak of nature, with not a care in the world at this time. It's still too difficult to fathom the methodical, murdering mayhem he brought upon an innocent child, two women and a little dog. And then there's Sarah, left in the aftermath of this unbelievable act of horror.

Ohioan to serve life in deaths of 3 found in tree

Updated: Jan 06, 2011 1:34 PM EST


MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (AP) - An unemployed tree-cutter admitted Thursday in court that he killed three people, stuffed their bodies in a hollow tree and raped a 13-year-old girl about two months ago in a case that drew national attention and included a massive air and ground search in the days after the victims disappeared.

Matthew Hoffman, 30, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, burglary, kidnapping, rape and other charges. He was sentenced to life in prison without possibility for parole.

"This is so sickening, Matthew, to know you even had the guts to do this," the girl said in a statement read aloud in court by a prosecutor.

Read more:
http://www.newschannel6now.com/Global/story.asp?S=13793129

Senseless. Absolutely, senseless.

Such a horrific crime. I'm relieved he pleaded guilty and he's already been sentenced and off to prison for life. This only happened November 12. I applaud LE and the court system for the swift justice brought in this case.

Hoffman: Slayings resulted from burglary gone wrong

By KANTELE FRANKO • Associated Press • January 6, 2011

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (AP) -- An unemployed tree-cutter who broke into a home to commit "a random burglary" admitted Thursday that he killed three people who surprised him and confronted him, stuffed their remains in a hollow tree, and kidnapped and raped a 13-year-old girl who was with them.

Prosecutors decided not to pursue the death penalty in exchange for Hoffman agreeing to plead guilty and telling authorities the location of the remains, which otherwise would have been difficult to find, Thatcher said.

"He knew the families needed closure, that they deserved to have their families back and properly buried," Malek said.

Sprang's sister, Sherrie Baxter, told Hoffman in court that the victims' families agreed to take the death penalty off the table "to get our family members back," not out of consideration for him.

Read more:
http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/article/20110106/UPDATES01/110106007

Matthew Hoffman, Ohio Killer Who Hid Bodies in Tree, Pleads Guilty


January 7, 2011 1:28 PM

Posted by Edecio Martinez

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (CBS/WBNS) Matthew Hoffman pleaded guilty Thursday to killing three people in Ohio and to all the other charges against him.

Read more:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20027794-504083.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

Originally they were thinking he was staking out the young girl. A random burglary turned into a house of horrors. These innocent people lost their lives over common household items. It could happen to anyone, it's terrifying to think about it.

Knox County killer contends burglary was sole intent

Matthew Hoffman says in confession he staked out home of strangers

Updated: Monday, February 7, 2011 09:48 PM
By Holly Zachariah and Allison Manning
The Columbus Dispatch

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Matthew Hoffman chose the house he wanted to burglarize, and then he waited.

Just before he took three lives and changed a teenage girl forever, Hoffman spent the night in the woods across from Tina Herrmann's isolated Knox County home. Bundled in a sleeping bag to ward off the cold of the November night, he watched the split-level house.

He dozed. Sometime after 9a.m. on Nov. 10, a Wednesday, he saw Herrmann leave. Hoffman sneaked across the road and slipped under the overhead garage door, which wasn't completely closed.

He swears that he went inside only to steal. He says he was excited by just being in someone else's home alone.

But before that day was over, Hoffman, a 30-year-old unemployed ex-con, had killed Herrmann, her 11-year-old son, Kody Maynard, and Herrmann's best friend and neighbor, 41-year-old Stephanie Sprang.

Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/02/07/Knox-County-murders.html?sid=101

Girl held captive by killer speaks out

'I just listened to everything he told me to do'

Updated: Tuesday, 22 Feb 2011, 8:50 AM CST

~Snipped~

In his recently released confession, Hoffmann portrayed the killings as the result of a burglary gone wrong at Herrmann's home.

"I would not have hurt her," he said of the girl. "I could not hurt her." He said he cooked her hamburgers during the time he was holding her captive.

Sarah Maynard said that wasn't true.

"I think he was just trying to say that in his letter to make people think that he felt good about himself, for him to think he fed me and stuff. And he didn't," she said as she sat Tuesday for the TV interview with her father, Larry Maynard, at her side. "He (Hoffman) didn't let me shower or any of that stuff," she said.

The teen said she stays strong by trying to get on with her life and not thinking about what has happened. Her father called Sarah's strength an inspiration.

Read more: http://www.fox10tv.com/dpps/news/national/midwest/ohio-girl-held-captive-by-killer-of-3-speaks-out-nt11-jgr_3726152

Kidnapped girl, 13: I wanted to show I survived

Kidnapping and rape survivor Sarah Maynard has been called the ‘epitome of bravery’

By Seamus McGraw
TODAYshow.com contributor TODAYshow.com contributor
updated 2/22/2011 10:14:27 AM ET.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Lying there on a makeshift bed of leaves in a murderer’s basement, 13-year-old Sarah Maynard had seen and endured an unimaginable horror. A stranger had burst into her home last November and stabbed to death Sarah’s mother, her 11-year-old brother and a family friend, then kidnapped Maynard and kept her for four days as his prisoner and the victim of his sexual assaults. And yet, through it all, the courageous young girl never gave up hope that she would be rescued.

In an exclusive interview Tuesday, Maynard told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira that she’s speaking out now because she “wanted to let people know how I could survive what he did to me.” Despite everything, she still is “making my life go on, and not thinking about the past.”

Read more: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41715014/ns/today-today_people/

Justice4all wrote:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

God bless Sarah.

All those leaves!! That is weird!!!

It sickens me that he protrayed himself as a kind and caring kidnapper and child rapist! "I couldn't kill her, I fed her"

What a murdering, selfish psychopath he is. Sarah has unbelievable strength and courage. Sarah's dad feels he was not staking out the house to burglarize, that makes more sense to me. Hoffman saying it was a burglary gone wrong kind of through me off, I'm sure he lied about that too.

I hope Sarah can continue to heal and stay positive.

Balloon festival to help crime victims will be this weekend

11:47 AM, Jul 30, 2012

~Snipped~

Fleming founded the festival after Tina Herrmann, 32, her son, Kody Maynard, 11, and family friend Stephanie Sprang, 41, were murdered in Knox County in 2010. Fleming is the brother of Barb Herrmann, Tina Herrmann’s mother.

He said the idea is to raise money for crime victims’ immediate needs. The money is distributed through the Tina Rose B. Herrmann and Kody Alexander Maynard/Healing Hearts Memorial Fund.

“We don’t want to start an endowment fund,” Fleming said. “People need the money now. There are some who don’t even have the gas money to get to therapy. So this is to help them out during a tough time.”

Read more: http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/article/20120730/ENTERTAINMENT/120730002