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Thread: John Eichner Charged in 2021 OH Murder of Amber Eichner has Died in Custody

  1. #1
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    John Eichner Charged in 2021 OH Murder of Amber Eichner has Died in Custody





    Genoa man accused of killing, burying wife enters insanity plea

    By Jon Stinchcomb
    Port Clinton News Herald

    PORT CLINTON - John Eichner, the Genoa man accused of murdering his wife and burying her body in a friend's backyard, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity on Wednesday.

    Eichner, 43, was indicted late last week on 28 felony charges stemming from Amber Eichner's death, including one count of aggravated murder, another count of murder, one count of abuse of a corpse, 11 counts of tampering with evidence, 10 counts of possession of criminal tools, and four counts of money laundering.

    Eichner was arrested April 27 and initially charged in the Ottawa County Municipal Court. After being indicted by a grand jury on April 30, his case was moved to Ottawa County Common Pleas Court.

    Asked to bury dog on friend's property

    Amber Eichner was first reported missing on April 23. Police later received a tip from a friend of Eichner, who reported that Eichner had asked and been granted permission to bury his deceased dog on the friend’s property in south Toledo.

    Police conducted a search and excavation of the yard and located human remains.

    An autopsy performed by the Lucas County Coroner’s Office determined the woman died of strangulation, according to a news release from Ottawa County Prosecutor James VanEerten.

    The remains are believed to be those of Amber Eichner, however, investigators are still awaiting results from DNA analysis to confirm the identity.

    Following his indictment, Eichner’s bond was set at $1.5 million without a 10% provision and he remains at the Ottawa County Detention Facility.

    Attorney appointed

    Attorney Esteban R. Callejas, of Bowling Green was appointed to represent Eichner and filed the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity on Wednesday. The filing also requested that an evaluation of Eichner be performed to determine his mental condition.

    Eichner is also accused of abandoning their four children in Tennessee. According to Genoa Police Chief Matthew Herrig, the children are with a family member there.

    Herrig said he had been called to the Eichners’ home on East Fourth Street last month for a domestic trouble call.

    According to a March 19 police report, John Eichner told police the two were having drinks in the morning when Amber said she had to go the bathroom but did not return.

    Police arrived, saying they were dispatched to the home, but said no signs of a struggle were observed.

    Amber Eichner told police she believed her husband had drugged her and said she was “afraid,” saying she could not remember anything after coming home and taking a shot with her husband and that the call to police must have come from her cousin.

    No drugs found in search

    When questioned by police, John Eichner told Herrig that his wife had “mental health” issues and that she needed to go to bed.

    No drugs were found during a search. Amber Eichner was advised to go the hospital and be treated for possible drugs in her system.

    Her cousin told police he overheard Amber Eichner on the phone shouting “get off me” before hanging up.

    John Eichner’s murder case has been scheduled for a pretrial hearing at 1:30 p.m. Friday, July 9. A jury trial will be held at a date to be determined.

    https://portclintonnewsherald.com/st...ty/4969031001/
    Last edited by Steven; 09-11-2022 at 01:11 PM.

  2. #2
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    June 13, 2021

    Man accused of killing, burying, wife dies in apparent suicide in jail

    By Craig Shoup
    Port Clinton News Herald

    PORT CLINTON - The man accused of murdering his wife and burying her body in a friend's back yard was found unresponsive in jail Saturday night and died early Sunday morning in an apparent suicide, officials said.

    John Eichner, 43, was charged in April after police found the remains of a woman believed to be his wife, Amber Eichner, in a South Toledo location.

    On Saturday, Deputy James Berlin Jr. of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office was conducting a nightly lockup walkthrough around 11:30 p.m. when he discovered Eichner unresponsive in his jail cell, the sheriff's office said in a news release Sunday.

    Being checked every 30 minutes

    Following his arrest, Eichner had previously attempted to commit suicide and was being checked by corrections officers every 30 minutes as part of his suicide watch, officials said.

    In an apparent suicide attempt May 9, Eichner made cuts across his wrists with a small blade broken out from a plastic razor. He was treated and released from the hospital.

    A deputy asked Eichner how he was doing after the May incident and he reportedly responded that he “didn’t want to live anymore.”

    Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick said Ohio state law requires checks on mail inmates every hour.

    Delayed check

    On Saturday, the routine check came around 33 or 35 minutes after the previous check on Eichner, Levorchick told the News Herald on Sunday.

    "We have an internal investigation currently going just to make sure that we were within all boundaries and just to make sure everyone performed appropriately," Levorchick said Sunday.

    When deputies found Eichner unresponsive, slumped over with a noose around his neck, they immediately began CPR life-saving efforts, according to a report from the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office.

    Levorchick said Eichner was transported to Magruder Hospital for more life-saving treatment but was pronounced dead around 12:45 a.m. Sunday.

    Arrested April 27, Eichner faced several felony charges included aggravated murder, murder, abuse of a corpse, 11 counts of tampering with evidence, 10 counts of possession of criminal tools, and four counts of money laundering.

    The murder investigation continues, according to a release from the sheriff's office.

    The murder of Amber Eichner

    A Lucas County Coroner's autopsy showed Amber Eichner was killed by strangulation and was found buried on a family friend's property in south Toledo.

    Prior to her body being discovered, Amber was believed to have been missing between April 14-17. John Eichner had asked called a friend in Toledo and asked if he could bury his dog on the property.

    Attorney Esteban R. Callejas, of Bowling Green was appointed to represent Eichner and filed the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity on May 5. The filing also requested that an evaluation of Eichner be performed to determine his mental condition.

    Eichner is also accused of abandoning their four children in Tennessee before his April arrest. According to Genoa Police Chief Matthew Herrig, the children were placed with a family member there.

    Herrig previously told the News Herald he had been called to the Eichners’ home on East Fourth Street in March for a domestic trouble call.

    According to a March 19 police report, John Eichner told police the two were having drinks in the morning when Amber said she had to go the bathroom but did not return.

    Police arrived, saying they were dispatched to the home, but found no signs of a struggle.

    Wife said she believed she had been drugged

    Amber Eichner told police she believed her husband had drugged her and said she was “afraid,” saying she could not remember anything after coming home and taking a shot with her husband and that the call to police must have come from her cousin.

    When questioned by police, John Eichner told Herrig that his wife had “mental health” issues and that she needed to go to bed.

    No drugs were found during a search. Amber Eichner was advised to go the hospital and be treated for possible drugs in her system.

    Her cousin told police he overheard Amber Eichner on the phone shouting “get off me” before hanging up.

    https://portclintonnewsherald.com/st...de/7677974002/

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