GREENE COUNTY — The man convicted of a railroad spike murder in Xenia has been taken back into custody after his conviction and sentence were reinstated.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, our crews saw David Lee Myers in custody in Greene County on Wednesday afternoon.
A warrant for his arrest had been filed earlier in the day.
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As previously reported, David Lee Myers was convicted of the 1988 murder of 18-year-old Amanda Maher in Xenia.
In 2020, lawyers with the Innocence Project claimed there was never-before-tested DNA found on Maher’s body and the handle of the railroad spike used to kill her.
Myers was granted a new trial last September. The judge released him on his own recognizance bond after overturning his conviction and sentence.
Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes said Meyers should’ve never been released.
“The visiting judge had misapplied the law and used unsound reasoning; those are the words of the court of appeals,” Hayes said.
Hayes appealed the decision to the Second District Court of Appeals.
They overturned Judge Jonathan Hein’s decision five days ago.
“We will continue to defend this conviction because, as the Court of Appeals wrote in their opinion, the evidence of Meyer’s guilt was overwhelming,” Hayes said.
That decision by the court of appeals should have immediately led Hein to revoke Myer’s bond so he could be taken back into custody.
But Hein delayed for five days, forcing Hayes to file two more motions and keeping Maher’s daughter on pins and needles.
“He is a capital murderer. A capital murderer does not belong on the streets,” Sarah Sparkman, Maher’s daughter, said.
Sparkman’s wishes came true on Wednesday when Hein revoked Myer’s bond.
This led to a warrant for Myers’ arrest, which landed him back in the Greene County Jail.
News Center 7 crews watched as a Greene County Sheriff’s deputy pulled up to the sallyport with Myers in handcuffs sitting in the back seat.
“He was on death row, he was certainly in prison, and on April 10th, all that was reinstated; he is guilty of aggravated murder, he is on death row,” Hayes said.
Hayes said he’s happy that Sparkman’s faith in the justice system paid off 38 years after her mother’s murder.
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