Bond Hill man accused of dropping woman's body from apartment window

A Bond Hill man is accused of dumping the body of a woman, with whom he'd been in a relationship, in an open area behind his apartment building.

Anthony Howard, 53, is facing charges of abuse of a corpse, obstructing official business and tampering with evidence, according to Hamilton County Municipal Court filings. The body of 44-year-old Shannon Ashcraft-Saylor was found on Oct. 8. She was lying unclothed behind Howard's apartment complex.

Cincinnati police said in an affidavit that Howard lied to detectives about knowing Ashcraft-Saylor, though he eventually admitted the pair had an ongoing sexual relationship.

Howard pushed the woman's body out of his apartment's window, allowing her to drop roughly 20 feet to the ground, investigators said.

He then moved Ashcraft-Saylor away from below his window to an easily accessed, grassy area and disposed of her clothes and other possessions.

Police say Howard hindered the death investigation. Court records did not indicate how she died. The Cincinnati Police Department reported Monday that the death had been ruled a homicide, but the coroner's office said investigators are still working to determine the cause and manner of Ashcraft-Saylor's death.

Howard was booked on Thursday into the Hamilton County Justice Center, where he's being held on bond amounts totaling $120,000.

He was arraigned on Friday and is currently waiting for a grand jury to review his case and decide whether to indict him.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Man dropped woman's body from apartment window, police say