Man charged in death of missing Florida woman found in Ohio

XENIA, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say a man now imprisoned in a different murder has been charged in the killing of a Florida woman who was reported missing in southwest Ohio before her skeletal remains were found last May.

Clark County’s prosecutor says 35-year-old Prentiss Hare, of Springfield, is charged with aggravated murder, corpse abuse and other counts in the death of 33-year-old Tiffany Chambers.

Court records don’t show an attorney for Hare.

Authorities say Chambers had lived in the Jacksonville, Florida, area. Police determined she traveled with Hare from Florida in July 2015. Investigators say Chambers was killed in Springfield, possibly over an unpaid debt, and was dumped in a wooded area near Xenia.

Hare’s then-girlfriend also is charged in the case, on counts of corpse abuse and complicity to aggravated murder.

Ohio home fire that killed 4 is blamed on unattended cooking

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Investigators say a northeast Ohio fire that killed two girls and their parents was caused by unattended cooking.

Fire officials in Akron say evidence indicates that the Dec. 3 blaze began in the kitchen and that one burner of the gas stove was turned on. Investigators didn’t find smoke detectors in the home after the fire and couldn’t confirm whether it had any.

WEWS-TV reports the owner of the home isn’t expected to be charged.

However, a lawsuit filed on behalf of the estates of the girls and their father alleged the landlord is liable for their deaths for failing to install smoke detectors.

The fire killed 33-year-old Shirley Wallis, 37-year-old Omar Riley, 9-year-old Shanice Riley and 8-year-old Aniyla Riley. A 12-year-old girl also was hospitalized.

Feds: Refugee from Yugoslavia hid service in war crime unit

CLEVELAND (AP) — Authorities say a man who served in a military unit engaged in war crimes in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s has been charged in federal court in Ohio for not disclosing that on immigration documents.

Fifty-nine-year-old Ilija Josipovic, of Akron, is charged with having immigration documents procured by fraud.

A message was left for his attorney. Cleveland.com reports the charges were filed in a way that typically indicates a plea agreement is anticipated.

Prosecutors allege he hid his service in the Zvornik Infantry Brigade of the army of Republika Srpska when applying for refugee status in the United States in 2002. Court documents say he served from around 1992 to 1996.

Prosecutors also allege he had permanent resident cards in 2012 and 2014 that were obtained through false statements.

Megabus halts service in Columbus due to unprofitability

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A popular intercity express bus service known for cheap fares that could drop as low as $1 has ceased service in Ohio’s capital city due to the unprofitability of the route.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Megabus is pulling out of Columbus, with the company citing lower gas prices and competition from other affordable transportation carriers as major factors in its decision.

A Megabus spokesman says the company is altering its network to reflect changing travel patterns.

This marks the second time that Megabus has halted operations in Columbus. It first launched in April 2006 but left the city after only two months because of low ridership. Service was restored in 2007.

Officials say the departure isn’t expected to have a major impact with Columbus being considered a “drive market.”

Ohio man laughs off life sentence for murdering woman

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — “So…” was the only word an Akron man offered to the judge after being sentenced to a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2014 murder of a Cuyahoga Falls woman.

Forty-six-year-old Jeffrey Conrad laughed and sneered as he learned his fate Wednesday in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

Conrad was convicted in October 2015 of aggravated murder, felonious assault and other charges stemming from the Aug. 28, 2014 fatal stabbing of Amanda Russell.

The 40-year-old mother was found dead in the backyard of her home. Prosecutors say Conrad and Russell once dated and had a volatile relationship.

Conrad was also sentenced to an additional eight years for stabbing a fellow inmate at the county jail with a shank fashioned out of a toilet plunger.

9-year-old girl fatally shot, man wounded in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI (AP) — A 9-year-old Cincinnati girl who was shot along with her father at a home in the city has died of her injuries.

Police say Alexandrea Thompson and her 39-year-old father were shot Wednesday evening.

The girl was taken to a hospital, where she later died. The father’s condition was not immediately available. Police have not released his name.

It’s unclear what led to the shooting. No arrests have been made.

Police continue to investigate.

Ohio college president won’t support ‘sanctuary campus’

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) — The president of a northwest Ohio college says she won’t support making it a so-called “sanctuary campus” to help protect immigrant students potentially facing deportation because she’s worried about jeopardizing the school’s federal funding.

The Blade reports Bowling Green State University President Mary Ellen Mazey announced Tuesday she wouldn’t go against federal law as the school’s faculty senate prepared to consider a resolution in support of the designation.

Mazey says about 68 percent of funding is tied to the federal government through tuition grants and loans.

She says she has signed on in support of the BRIDGE Act, which would provide protections for students enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. That program has allowed young immigrants to work and travel for humanitarian, educational or employment purposes.

Passenger in Amish buggy killed in buggy-truck crash in Ohio

WELLINGTON, Ohio (AP) — A man riding in a horse-drawn Amish buggy was killed when the buggy and a truck crashed in northeast Ohio.

A State Highway Patrol statement says the truck struck the rear of the buggy as both vehicles were traveling north on State Route 58 shortly after 6 a.m. Wednesday. Both of the buggy’s occupants were thrown from their vehicle.

The patrol says 25-year-old Jon Swartzentruber, of Homerville, died at the scene of the crash. Authorities say the buggy’s operator was 54-year-old Levi Shetler, of Wellington. He was hospitalized in stable condition.

The driver of the truck wasn’t injured.

Troopers say the crash also killed the horse pulling the buggy.

Authorities say their investigation is continuing.