Shiloh murder suspect indicted, accused of killing father
A 53-year-old Shiloh man has been charged with murder in the death of his 76-year-old father, who was found shot to death in his bed on Christmas Eve.
Robert Len Hamman, 53, was arraigned at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Richland County Common Pleas Court Magistrate Jill Cochran's courtroom on the murder count. He also faces charges on a three-year gun specification and as a repeat violent offender, according to Richland County Clerk of Courts documents.
Magistrate Jill Cochran ordered a $1 million cash or surety bond, no contact with his brothers and appointed attorney Ben Zushin. Hamman told the magistrate via video conferencing from the jail he wanted to withdraw the attorney she just appointed him. Cochran told Hamman his attorney would need to schedule a hearing with a judge on the matter. He entered a not guilty plea.
Deputies from the Richland County Sheriff's Office initially were searching for Hamman, who was listed as a missing person on a sheriff's report filed Dec. 24, in connection with the death of his father, Terrence L. Hamman, who lived on Mechanics Street in Shiloh.
When found, Robert Len Hamman was incarcerated in the Wyandot County Jail in Upper Sandusky on a charge of probation violation on a warrant out of the Ohio Adult Parole Authority. He is currently incarcerated at the Richland County Jail.
According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections offender search, Hamman had been released from Lake Erie Correctional Institution on post-release control supervision on Jan. 15, 2022.
Authorities searching for Robert Hamman initially as missing person
The Wyandot County Sheriff's Office received a call from a concerned person regarding Robert Hamman. Earlier it was reported Hamman had been picked up by a resident on Dec. 24 and taken to a local restaurant near Nevada. Hamman was found at the same restaurant on Dec. 28, 2022 and taken into custody without incident, according to a news release.
In December, Richland County Sheriff's Capt. Donald Zehner said deputies were looking for Robert Hamman, concerned about his well-being.
Zehner said Robert Hamman was at that time a person of interest because he lived at his father's residence and because he was on foot in the cold weather.
The sheriff's office and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation investigated the homicide.
Autopsy report rules Terrence Hamman's death as a homicide
Richland County Coroner's Investigator Tom Stortz earlier said Terrence L. Hamman died of a gunshot wound. His body was taken to Montgomery County Medical Center for an autopsy. Stortz was contacted by the Richland County Sheriff's Office about the death at 3:30 a.m. Christmas morning.
According to the autopsy report, a wound was found under the left armpit and a second wound was seen in the arm and on the outside of the triceps area, and a bullet was felt under the skin of Terrence Hamman. A small, round wound was seen on the right, lower side of the rib cage.
The autopsy report, obtained by the News Journal through a public records request, said no gun or shells were found in the home. Terrence Hamman was found covered by a quilt, fully dressed. The autopsy revealed that Terrence Hamman had died of an indeterminate range gunshot wound of the torso. Death was ruled a homicide.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
419-521-7223
Twitter: @LWhitmir
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Robert Len Hamman, 53, was charged with murder in his father's death
