Woman arrested in connection with husband's murder, man charged with dismembering the body
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (WKRC) - A woman has been arrested in connection with her husband's murder, and his daughter's boyfriend is charged with trying to get rid of his body.
Police responded to the couple’s house on Stone Path Drive near Manchester Road for a welfare check on Tuesday around 9 p.m. According to court documents, they found the dismembered body of Jeffrey Fellman in the garage of his home with his wife, 59-year-old Bonnie Vaughn.
On Tuesday, authorities say John Havens, 34, came to the Middletown Division of Police and confessed to the crime. He reportedly told officers that Vaughn fatally shot Fellman.
Court records show Havens told detectives Vaughn picked him up at his residence and asked him if he would help her dispose of a body. He allegedly said, when they arrived, he found his girlfriend's father's corpse, which he dismembered with a handsaw.
Havens was taken into custody and charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Vaughn had fled the scene of the crime, police say, but was later found inside her car at a Middletown gas station and arrested on a murder charge. According to court documents, Vaughn admitted to police that she had killed her husband the previous day.
While questions remain regarding a motive, the couple’s neighbors tell Local 12 it’s shocking and unexpected. Longtime neighbor Michelle McRoberts says while she didn’t hear anything, she did notice something subtle, but strange.
“She never puts her garage door down. Even in the winter, it’s always up, even when it’s very cold outside. So, that was very odd because everyone noticed her garage door was down,” said McRoberts. “We’re all just really devastated and so sad. I mean, it’s just such a sad situation. So, yeah, it’s shocking.”
McRoberts says she’d never seen Havens before, but she says her son noticed Havens outside the couple’s home on Tuesday around noon.
Another neighbor, Tamela Kerns, said she’d see Fellman nearly every day in the garage or in the yard. She says he recently introduced himself. Even before Fellman was identified in court records as the victim, Kerns said she knew it had to be him because they usually see him every day.
"I can’t believe it. Because, I mean, I’m just shocked because, like, we’re just in our house, you know, not knowing something like that is happening right across the street from us. It's sad. I feel bad for all of them,” Kerns said.
Middletown Police say they have responded to domestic disturbances at the home in the past. Local 12 has requested dash cam video of Vaughn’s arrest and surveillance video of Havens walking into the police department to confess.
A judge set Vaughn’s bond at $1 million and $15,000 for Havens.
Warren County property records list Vaughn as the owner of the house.
Police say it could take up to a week to conduct further interviews with additional people, including the victim’s daughter.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 513-425-7700 or Detective McDonald at 513-425-7745.
