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Ohio Man Who Allegedly Asked To Bury A Dog On Friend's Property Buried His Missing Wife There, Police Say
John Eichner, who was considered missing until his arrest, has been charged with murder after a body was found at his friend's home.
Investigators in Ohio say they believe they may have located the body of a missing mother of four as her husband has been taken into custody on suspicion of murder.
On Tuesday, John Eichner, 43, was arrested after a body was found at his friend's home, jail records show. He was considered missing until his arrest. Amber Eichner, 34, a mother of four girls, and her estranged husband hadn't been seen in Genoa since April 14.
John Eichner had allegedly abandoned the couple’s four children, of whom his wife had custody, at a relative’s home in Tennessee on April 23, local outlet WTOL11 reports. Amber’s phone last pinged at an Ohio cell tower around the same time.
His friend later told the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office that John Eichner had asked him if he could bury his dead dog on the man's property, according to WTOL. The friend grew concerned after hearing about Amber Eichner on the news, WTVG reports. As a result of that tip, investigators excavated the friend’s south Toledo property on Monday night and found human remains, the Toledo Blade reports.
The body has not yet been positively identified but investigators believe it is that of Amber Eichner. The Lucas County Coroner's office reported the cause of death to be strangulation.
John is facing a murder charge, four misdemeanor charges of endangering children, and tampering with evidence charges, according to online jail records.
The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office and the Ottawa County Prosecuting Attorney's Office have not immediately returned Oxygen.com’s requests for information.
John Eichner was convicted of corruption of a minor in 1998, which resulted in a 15-month prison sentence. He was 19 when he was accused of victimizing a 14-year-old, according to WTOL. He was also charged with domestic violence in 2010 for allegedly throwing his wife to the ground and punching her in the throat; that case was ultimately dismissed.
"With her being a victim of domestic violence, and she has been for a very long time, we fought really hard to help support her to get away, and the only thing I could say is she finally got the kids away from him," the slain mother’s cousin, Amanda Kimbrell, told WNWO. “It wasn't the way we wanted but she's finally free.”
Kimbrell said she was trying to help her cousin find a domestic violence shelter around the time that she vanished.
John Kimbrell is being held on a $1,070,000 bond. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer.
