Prosecutors to discuss charges in Dayton strangling death

Police in Dayton are working to determine whether a Dayton man is connected to the strangulation death of his mother, who he said he found beaten to death at his home in the 4900 block of Hoover Avenue.

  • John Mukes, 52, to be released from jail pending further investigation
  • Autopsy on Mary Hinesmon, 78, established her death as a homicide
  • Prosecutors to revisit case Aug. 5

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UPDATE @ 8:58 a.m. (Aug. 2):

The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office is scheduled to meet with police on Aug. 5 to discuss possible charges against John Mukes in connection to the strangling death of his mother, Mary Hinesmon, 78, according to a spokesman.

Mukes was released from police custody last month after investigators determined additional investigation was needed in the case.

UPDATE @ 2:29 p.m. (July 5)

No charges are being filed at this time against the son of a woman who died of strangulation over the weekend.

John Mukes, 52, is to be set free today after his arrest Sunday following the death of his mother, 78-year-old Mary Hinesmon.

Police said Mukes was a “person of interest” in the case, but he was held on suspicion of murder and resisting arrest.

According to Greg Flannagan, additional investigation is needed at this time and prosecutors will meet the first week of August to discuss the case again.

The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office has determined Hinesmon’s death is a homicide.

UPDATE@2:07 p.m. (July 5):

According to the coroner’s office, the cause of death was strangulation and is considered a homicide. No official charges have been filed.

FULL REPORT

John Mukes, 52, is to be in a Montgomery County courtroom on Tuesday afternoon for an initial appearance on charges of murder and misdemeanor resisting arrest in the death of his mother, 78-year-old Mary Hinesmon, who was found dead Sunday in Mukes’ residence on Hoover Avenue.

Dayton police arrested Mukes at the residence. They said he called 911 about 9 a.m. Sunday to report that he found a woman in his home who appeared to have been beaten to death. During the call, police said, Mukes claimed he didn’t know how she was injured.

According to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch records, Mukes hung up on the dispatcher and didn’t answer when the dispatcher tried to call him back.

Police were called to the address about 9:10 a.m. to investigate the death. Police would not say how the woman died or how she may have been assaulted.

The autopsy on Hinesmon was being performed Monday and so the cause and manner of death have yet to be determined, according to the county coroner’s office.