Central Ohio victims dismembered

By Gina Potthoff

The Columbus Dispatch

A Knox County mother, her son and a family friend, whose disappearance sparked a frantic weeklong search, died of multiple stab wounds.

Preliminary autopsy results released Saturday showed several stab wounds from a knife to the back and chest of each victim — Tina Herrmann, 32; her son, Kody Maynard, 11;and Stephanie Sprang, 41.

The bodies then were dismembered, said Knox County Coroner Jennifer F. Ogle. They apparently were killed inside Herrmann’s home in Apple Valley on Nov. 10.

Authorities think tree-climbing equipment was used to scale a 65-foot-tall hollow beech tree in the Kokosing Lake Wildlife Area, with garbage bags containing the remains then lowered into the cavity of the tree.

Small nonfatal wounds were also noted. The autopsies found no signs of sexual assault, pending further investigation, Ogle said in a statement.

“The most challenging and heartbreaking thing I have had to do as coroner is discuss these findings with the families of the deceased victims,” Ogle said. Funerals for the three have not been announced.

The bodies were discovered Thursday afternoon after attorneys for suspect Matthew J. Hoffman directed authorities to the tree in an area north of Fredericktown. The body of Herrmann’s small dog also was found in the tree.

Herrmann’s daughter, 13-year-old Sarah Maynard, also disappeared on Nov. 10 after she and her brother arrived home from school.

She was found bound and gagged in the basement of Hoffman’s Columbus Road home last Sunday. She is with relatives, and authorities credited her with helping them to make a case against Hoffman.

Hoffman, 30, is being held at the Knox County jail on a kidnapping charge under a $1 million cash bond.

He has not been charged with the slayings.

The final coroner’s report will be completed once the full forensic report is completed by Dr. Jeff Lee of the Licking County Coroner’s Office, which usually takes six to eight weeks.

Matthew John Hoffman is the son of Robert and Patricia Hoffman. He grew up in the Warren area, and attended Lakeview High School before moving with his mother to Knox County in 1997 when his parents divorced.