Suspect in Ohio killings waives hearing

By Allison Manning

Columbus Dispatch

MOUNT VERNON

Attorneys for the man suspected of killing three people in Knox County have waived a hearing scheduled for today.

Matthew J. Hoffman, 30, was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing in Mount Vernon Municipal Court on kidnapping charges. He was arrested Nov. 14 after 13-year-old Sarah Maynard was found bound and gagged in his basement. He is being held in lieu of $1 million cash bail.

He is expected to be charged in the deaths of Sarah’s mother, Tina Herr- mann, 32; her 11-year-old brother, Kody Maynard; and family friend Stephanie Sprang, 41. The bodies of the three were found Thursday, dismembered and placed in trash bags inside of a hollow beech tree in the Kokosing Lake Wildlife Area.

Knox County Prosecutor John C. Thatcher said the case will be transferred to the Knox County Common Pleas Court. Charges, including the kidnapping charge, will be presented to a Knox County grand jury in four to six weeks, Thatcher said.

Hoffman is being represented by the Knox County public defender’s office.

Today, the families of the victims will begin the process of saying goodbye to their loved ones. Calling hours for Sprang are scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at the Flowers-Snyder Funeral Home in Mount Vernon. A private funeral is scheduled for Wednesday.

The family of Herrmann and Kody Maynard will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. today at Peace Lutheran Church in Gahanna. Funeral services for them will be 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.