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$1 million bond set for cold case suspect
(by Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor - May 10, 2008)
At a May 5 arraignment, Madison County Common Pleas Judge Robert D. Nichols set bond at $1 million for Marvin L. Smith Jr.
Smith has been charged with corruption of a minor in relation to the case of Jessica Lynn Keen, whose body was discovered in Foster Chapel Cemetery in West Jefferson on March 17, 1991.
According to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Keen was sexually assaulted before her death and tried to escape her attacker by running into the cemetery. The cause of her death was blunt force trauma to her head and body.
During the original investigation 17 years ago, DNA evidence could not be linked to a known suspect. Two months ago, with the evidence resubmitted, a match was made to a suspect in North Carolina—Marvin L. Smith Jr.
Smith was arrested on March 28 in Alamance County, N.C. He was extradited to Ohio on May 2. He is being held at the Tri-County Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg.
Smith’s informal pre-trial has been set for May 19 in London. The formal pre-trial will take place on May 30. The jury trial is set for June 10. Smith has been assigned an attorney from the state public defenders office in Columbus.
The only charge against Smith at this time is corruption of a minor. Any ad-ditional charges will depend on the out-come of the Sheriff’s Office investigation.
“We have a lot of evidence still out being tested and re-tested by various labs,” said Sheriff James P. Sabin. “We’re still inter-viewing people (Smith) knew in 1991 and developing a history on him. The difficult thing is that it’s 17 years later and people have moved.”
Sabin said his office is taking it’s time with the investigation.
“My thought is, it’s been 17 years since this homicide occurred, and we don’t want to rush the rest of this investigation. We want all evidence in line when we present it to the grand jury,” he said.
Smith, 51, resided in the Short North area of Columbus at the time Keen disappeared on March 15, 1991. Keen had been staying at the Huckleberry House, a group home for teenagers in the Short North.
Anyone who knew or was familiar with Smith during his time in Columbus should contact the Madison County Sheriff’s Office at 614-879-9057.
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