BUTLER COUNTY — An area judge recently denied an early release request for a man who played a role in his fiancé’s death.
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John Carter is currently serving three years in prison for an involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Katelyn Markham.
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Carter was seeking an early release based on good behavoir in prison, according to our media partner WCPO-9 TV.
His defense called him a model inmate.
Butler County Judge Daniel Haughey denied the request during the hearing on Friday.
“We don’t get to hit a reset button. We don’t get to undo what’s been done. ‘Boy, I’m a great guy other than that day that I killed someone,’” Haughey said.
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser called the decision an example of “judicial excellence and consideration,” WCPO-9 reported.
“He took into account everything that needed to be considered both by the public, by the prosecution, by the defense attorney, and by the defendant and all those in attendance on both sides of this case,” Gmoser said. “We all agree that three years is not enough time, but it is the time that’s available in a case that was largely circumstantial, where the elements of proof were very difficult and could have ultimately led to a different result.”
As previously reported by News Center 7, Markham was last seen in August 2011 at her apartment in Butler County.
Her remains were found in 2013 in Cedar Grove, Indiana.
Markham’s death was ruled a homicide, but the cause of death is undetermined at this time, WCPO-9 reported.
Initially, prosecutors pursued two murder charges against Carter. One of those charges claimed he “purposefully” caused her death, and the other claimed he caused her death as the “proximate result” of felony violence.
His attorneys told WCPO-9 that by pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, he admitted to accidentally causing Markham’s death during a misdemeanor assault.
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