Woman hit, killed by machete while riding motorcycle; Suspect arrested

This browser does not support the video element.

PREBLE COUNTY — A woman is dead after she was hit with a machete while riding a motorcycle in Preble County over the weekend.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00 and 6:00, Preble County Sheriff’s deputies say Leigha Huff, 41, of Middletown, died violently Sunday night near Camden.

Sheriff Mike Simpson says Huff was with a man she knew at his friend’s house along Aukerman Creek Road.

That’s when the pair hopped on his motorcycle to go back to his house in Eaton.

TRENDING STORIES:

When they went by 59-year-old Kenneth Brabant’s house in the 7700 block of Upper Somers Road, he allegedly came to the end of his driveway and swung a machete at them.

The machete slashed Huff’s leg, which caused her to bleed profusely.

Deputies say the two made the short drive back to his friend’s house on Aukerman Creek and called 911.

“You take that five or six-minute period for the drive back over to Aukerman Creek, where they were from, and I believe they tried to do life-saving measures there. EMS got on the scene, and then there’s nothing they can do,” Simpson said.

Investigators say they found that five minutes before that 911 call, Brabant’s daughter had called from his house.

In the call, she claimed her ex-boyfriend was driving up and down the road on a motorcycle, trying to get her to come outside.

Brabant was reportedly outside when this call was made.

Deputies say Huff and the man she was riding with didn’t know Brabant and his daughter.

Authorities executed a search warrant on Brabant’s property and recovered the machete.

Court documents indicate that he tried to clean blood off the machete and hid it in the woods behind his house.

Brabant was arrested after speaking with deputies and has since been formally charged with the following crimes:

  • Two counts of Murder, unclassified felonies
  • Two counts of Felonious Assault, second-degree felonies
  • Tampering with Evidence, third-degree felony
  • One count of Attempt to Commit an Offense, first-degree felony

News Center 7’s John Bedell was the only reporter in the courtroom for Brabant’s arraignment on Wednesday.

In court, Brabant said, “All I can say is I’m sorry.”

“Do not, please do not get into the facts of your case,” the judge replied.

A representative with Brabant’s law office told News Center 7’s John Bedell, “No comment.”

Brabant’s bond was set at $1 million; however, he remains booked in the Preble County Jail at the time of writing.

If he does post bond, he will be on house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor.

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]