Man charged in death of woman from small southern Ohio county

By Steve Bittenbender

(Reuters) - A grand jury has indicted a 37-year-old man for murder in the death of one of several women who have died or gone missing in little more than a year in a small southern Ohio county, prosecutors said on Friday.

Jason McCrary, who has been held on an unrelated charge, was indicted for murder in the death of Timberly Claytor, Ross County Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Schmidt said.

Schmidt told a news conference that investigators have found no evidence linking McCrary to the other women, but authorities have not completely ruled out the possibility.

Four women, including Claytor, have died under suspicious circumstances and two others disappeared from the Chillicothe, Ohio, area. All were believed to be drug users, possibly drawn into prostitution to support their addictions, authorities said.

Claytor, who had been shot in the head, was found dead in late May hours after she got into a car with McCrary, Schmidt said. The two have been linked by DNA on his shoes and in the vehicle, he said.

The indictment accused McCrary of possessing a firearm in the commission of the murder and said he was a repeat violent offender who had been convicted previously of armed robbery.

McCrary will be arraigned on the charges on Monday, Schmidt said. He is being held on a $100,000 bond on the unrelated charge of failing to register as a sex offender.

Law enforcement officials have said that six women dead or missing is an unusually high number for Ross County, which has a population of less than 80,000 and is 50 miles south of Ohio's capital of Columbus.

The cases have raised fears among residents of a possible serial killer, according to the Chillicothe Gazette. Ross County authorities have said the investigation has not produced any evidence that one person or persons are responsible.

Since May 2014, Claytor, Tameka Lynch, Shasta Himelrick and Tiffany Sayre have been found dead after being reported missing. Charlotte Trego and Wanda Lemons were reported missing and are unaccounted for.

Sayre, whose death also is being investigated as a homicide, was last seen in Chillicothe in May and her body was found in June in a creek in an adjoining county.

(Reporting by Steve Bittenbender in Louisville, Kentucky; Writing by David Bailey; Editing by Grant McCool)