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

I don't know why I can't get the video centered from their news site.

These poor people would never have been found! It's hunting season, but this is on a nature preserve, no hunting permitted, and more than likely no one would be walking by there and smell decomposition. I have to wonder if he's done this before. Unreal.......

He spent a lot of time to prepare and dispose of them, including the dog. All the while Sarah was tied up in his basement. Once he was finished with her, I shudder to think she would have met the same fate as the others. Thank god she was found and rescued when she was, it's a miracle.

Slain woman's manager: I knew something was wrong

November 19, 2010

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (AP) — The first indication that something had gone terribly wrong in this tiny Ohio town came when a Dairy Queen manager went to check on a friend who didn't show up for work.

The manager, Valerie Haythorn, told The Associated Press on Friday that when she drove by last week, the lights were on at the home where Tina Herrmann lived with her two children. Herrmann's truck also was in the driveway and, thinking all was well, Haythorn kept driving.

When Herrmann missed a second day, Haythorn drove back to the house — and this time she went inside.

She refused to describe what she saw, only saying that she immediately called authorities. It was during that Nov. 11 visit, the sheriff says, that a significant amount of blood was discovered and the search for four missing people began in earnest.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h2LdPecOd10wfvqtg8wJSAKidOJA?docId=229369ee66c44139921dd897eee9dbb1

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This is gruesome Tish. They won't say whether Hoffman confessed, but they said the information that led authorities to the bodies came from Hoffman through his attorneys. They might have never been found without Hoffman talking.

More pictures of the tree, it's my understanding they've already cut the tree down.

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I know, Tish. A lot of premeditation and planning. He had the tree climbing gear and hoists. It's just sick, beyond belief. Never in a million years would I have imagined someone would hide bodies in that manner.

No information has been released yet on exactly what Sarah witnessed. Someone did say that she had told the police he killed her dog, it was a little min pin. So I assume she witnessed that, I don't know that for a fact. He even put the dog in the tree with them. I hope she didn't have to suffer watching her brother, mother and Stephanie being murdered. Stephanie has 3 children. It's just horrific, evil at their doorstep, out of the blue.

Family, Community Mourns Knox County Tragedy

Friday, November 19, 2010 6:05 PM
Updated: Friday, November 19, 2010 7:15 PM
WBNS-10TV

HOWARD, Ohio — Family and friends of Tina Herrmann, her son Kody Maynard, and family friend Stephanie Sprang said they have been overwhelmed by an outpouring of community support.

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2010/11/19/story-mount-vernon-knox-county-missing-family-mourns.html?sid=102

Send Condolences, Comments For Knox County Victims' Families

Thursday, November 18, 2010 5:57 PM
WBNS-10TV

Share your thoughts using the forum below.

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2010/11/18/story-knox-county-condolences.html?sid=102

Tree Where 3 Bodies Found Cut Down
Bodies Of Mom, Son & Friend Found In Garbage Bags In Hollow Tree

Updated: November 19, 2010 - 6:00 PM



Gary Ludwig -- a supervisor with Ohio's Division of Wildlife -- says authorities on Friday cut down the 60-foot tree where authorities had a day earlier recovered the remains of a mother, her 11-year-old son and a family friend.

Ludwig says Knox County authorities wanted the tree removed from a wildlife preserve in Fredericktown out of respect for the victims' families and so that it would not become "a sightseeing thing."

Hours after the discovery Thursday, a vigil that had been planned near the family's home to support search teams became, instead, a memorial.

Read more:
http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/nov/19/20/community-grieves-triple-murder-investigation-begi-ar-296411/

I listened to the news video on the link concerning the family and community mourning (Piper's post above) and the reporter said the bodies were not intact-

Another dismemberment crime?

Here is the link but it may not have the same newscast video later on. Its mentioned in the beginning of the video report.

Lingering questions regarding the Knox County murders

Updated: 11/19/2010 11:33:23 PM





~Snipped~
As far as how Hoffman may have known these three, according to the Mt. Vernon News, he was a member of a gym that Stephanie Sprang worked at as a cleaning lady. Staffers at the gym tell the newspaper he would show up later at night just as the cleaning staff would arrive.

The case against Hoffman has authorities from around central Ohio wondering if there may be a connection to other unsolved cases on their books.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=159434&catid=3

Oh man, Sherry... the video above states the same thing, probable dismemberment in order for them to fit in the bags and into hollow the tree..............

A few more pictures of Stephanie Sprang:

Oh, Piper...

I bet Hoffman followed Sprang home from work that night and she stopped at Hermann's first. Hoffman then realized there were more people than Sprang at the house and he killed all but Sarah. I can imagine the dog was killed to shut it up from barking at that hour where a neighbor might get suspicious of it. Kody was probably killed trying to protect his mother when he heard the ruckus and checked it out. I can only hope that Sarah was hiding in her room and didn't see the gruesome ordeal taking place by this sadistic perp. Sad.

That's what I'm starting to think. Hoffman's parents lived close to Tina, and Stephanie lived around the corner from Tina. I know they've been saying he was possibly watching Sarah. It's also possible that he falsely flirted with Stephanie at the gym and he could have even been invited to Tina's for a beer and to hang out, LE stated there were beer cans everywhere. He also could have drank those beers by himself after he'd killed them. I suppose anything is possible. Whatever the scenario, he didn't decide this at the last moment, he had a plan for one of them, and the rest were in the way. I totally agree about the dog being killed first to silence it. What a freakin' monster!!

I think the gym connection is crucial now that it's coming out.......that's not a coincidence!

Authorities cut down tree where bodies of 3 missing people found

Saturday, November 20, 2010 02:56 AM

Jail logs on Hoffman:

~Snipped~

According to logs provided by the Knox County jail, Hoffman has been under a suicide watch since entering the prison just after 2 p.m Sunday. He's being checked every 10 minutes by guards.

The logs detail how he's spent his time:

For the first 21/2 hours of his stay on Sunday, he was left in a restraint chair. About 50 minutes after being strapped in, he urinated on himself, the log states.

At 5 p.m., he was put in a "suicide gown," a vest designed to keep him from hurting himself.

He spent much of his first day lying down, interrupted a few times to be fingerprinted and have his photo taken.

Just after 8:30 on Sunday evening, he started crying but had stopped by the time another deputy came back six minutes later. It is the only time that the log refers to his state of mind.

Hoffman spent nearly 61/2 hours with detectives on Monday, and an additional 90 minutes being questioned Tuesday morning.

He met with his attorney at 11:20a.m. Tuesday and had his videotaped court hearing at 1:30p.m. At 6:30 that night, after dinner, he was given an unnamed book and read for the next hour.

He met again with his attorney for more than two hours on Wednesday, before his mother, Patricia Hedglin, came for a 20-minute visit at 10 p.m., the first day of visiting hours. Hedglin and her husband live near Herrmann's home, seemingly the only connection between Hoffman and the families.

Thursday, Hoffman met with his attorney at 2:50 p.m., after the bodies had been cut out of the tree. Knox County Sheriff David Barber has confirmed that Hoffman told them of the location, but the log doesn't detail that conversation. After meeting with his attorney, the log says, Hoffman returned to his cell and again read.

At 5:10 p.m. Thursday, while Barber was telling reporters gathered at the sheriff's office that the bodies had been found, Hoffman was reading.

At 1:30 p.m. yesterday, he was given a new book and the old one was taken out.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/11/20/authorities-cut-down-tree-where-bodies-of-3-missing-people-found.html?sid=101