Carter is scheduled to be back in court Nov. 28 for a status report hearing.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Carter was Markham’s fiancé at the time of her death. He was indicted in March after a months-long investigation by the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office.
Markham’s death has been ruled a homicide by an Indiana coroner based on the totality of circumstances surrounding her disappearance and how her remains were found. But a cause of death could not be determined.
Last week prosecutors turned over a fourth round of discovery to Carter’s defense team that included 33 items as the investigation and the case continues to evolve, according to Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser.
Included are screenshots of text messages and Facebook social media messages identified by initials to prosecutor’s office Investigator Paul Newton. Also included are subpoenas for bank statements and cell phone records, audio interviews with witnesses identified by initials and photographs of properties where Carter and Markham lived in 2011, and for an Indiana farm owned by the Carter family as well as building permits and designs for that property on Kokomo Hill Road.
Also included are a “Facebook search warrant for Michael Strouse,” “email from J. Ryan Green about Michael Strouse” and “screenshots from Facebook of Michael Strouse provided by J. Ryan Green.”
Green is a private investigator hired by Markham’s family to investigate her disappearance and death.
Strouse was convicted in 2019 of the death of 23-year-old Ellen “Ellie” Weik at his Liberty Twp. home. Within hours after Strouse’s arrest, Fairfield police, who initially investigated the Markham case, confirmed a meeting with the West Chester Police Department, which investigated the Weik case.
A photo also surfaced in 2019 of Strouse at a gathering picturing him with Markham and others.
Gmoser has said the photos listed in discovery are part of the investigation by his office and others for any connection to Markham’s death. He declined to comment any further.
Strouse is in prison and is not charged with any crime in the Markham case, so it is likely the prosecutor’s investigation eliminated Strouse as a suspect. Prosecutors often investigate to eliminate any other possible suspects, especially before seeking an indictment.
Markham, a free-spirited art student, was just days away from her 22nd birthday when she vanished in August 2011 from her Fairfield townhouse. Her skeletal remains were found April 7, 2013 in a remote wooded area in Indiana about 30 miles from her home. Her death was ruled a homicide, but the cause of death has not been determined.
It remained unsolved until March 2023 when an 18-month investigation by the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office resulted in Carter’s arrest.
What happened to Markham and how she died has remained a mystery for years, despite a $100,000 reward and the efforts of multiple police agencies, private detectives, television shows and a movie.
Indiana State Police and at least two private detectives also investigated the case with no arrests — just lots of theories.
Markham’s disappearance was treated as a missing person case by Fairfield police when she vanished from her Dorshire Drive residence. She did not show up for work at David’s Bridal near Tri-County Mall.
Carter called 911 to report her missing.
Markham left her car, keys, dog and all personal belongings, with the exception of her cell phone, at her townhouse. Her cell phone was turned off at about 12:45 a.m. on Aug. 14, 2011. The GPS device on her phone also was turned off.
When the skeletal remains were found in April 2013 in a remote wooded area in Cedar Grove, Ind., within days, confirmation came that the remains were Markham’s.
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