Markham family to push for Katelyn's Law after John Carter's sentencing in Fairfield woman's death

Dave Markham wants to change the law when it comes to crimes associated with murder or involuntary manslaughter.

John Carter, who recently admitted responsibility in the death of Katelyn Markham nearly 13 years ago, agreed to a plea deal on involuntary manslaughter, which had a maximum of 3 years in prison. Other charges that could have been levied against Carter and possibly others were not on the table as the statute of limitations ran out.

Dave Markham and many others in the community felt Carter should have received more time in prison, and others should have been charged.

“We want to try to change some legislation,” the victim’s father said minutes after Carter was led away in handcuffs to begin his prison sentence. “A lot of people think there should have been other people charged in this crime. Desecration of a body, the help he might have had. The statute of limitations had run out, so they were not able to be prosecuted or arrested or anything. We would like to see that change.”

Many of the additional charges that could have been levied had a 10-year statute of limitations, and Markham attorney Tina Barrett said that’s because Katelyn’s body was hidden.

Katelyn Markham was an art student, days shy of her 22nd birthday, when she was reported missing by her then-fiancé Carter in August 2011. Her skeletal remains were found more than a year-and-a-half later on April 7, 2013, in a remote wooded area in Indiana, some 30 miles from her Fairfield home.

The wooded area was not far from a farm owned by the Carter family.

While Carter was frequently suspected, he was not charged until March 2023, 12 years after she went missing and a decade shy of when Katelyn Markham’s body was found.

“If a body is missing, for any period of time, or hidden, then that would hopefully trigger Katelyn’s Law, which would open up more charges in whatever that’s involuntary manslaughter or murder,” said Barrett. “Murder has no statute of limitations, but even involuntary manslaughter has a 20 years statute of limitations, so if we had something like Katelyn’s Law, it wouldn’t have been just the three years for the involuntary manslaughter. It could have been a lot of other charges that would not have run out of time. That happened because he hid her body, and he shouldn’t reap any rewards for that.”

Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said this is “a great idea” and “absolutely essential” so no one could get “a pass on conduct on a serious offense that’s not time barred.”

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About the Author

Michael D. Pitman

Michael D. Pitman has been a reporter in southwest Ohio since 1999. He's covered local governments in Warren and Butler counties, as well as state and national issues. He currently covers the cities of Fairfield and Hamilton.