Extradition proceedings are under way for a Kentucky couple accused of killing a man last week.
Robert Lee Carpenter, 37, and Misty Lynn McKnight, 39, appeared in Delaware Municipal Court Monday morning via video conferencing from the Delaware County Jail after they were arrested on Saturday and charged with murder, kidnapping, theft of a vehicle and tampering with evidence.
Assistant Delaware County Prosecutor Cory Goe told Delaware Municipal Judge David Sunderman that on April 21, Carpenter and McKnight abducted a 31-year-old Kentucky man named Joshua Cameron and forced him to drive his car toward Ohio.
Goe said McKnight and Cameron were acquaintances and said that McKnight told investigators that she got out of the car at one point and when she returned Carpenter had pulled Cameron into the backseat of the car and slashed his throat with a knife, killing him.
Goe said the couple then dumped Cameron’s body in the woods and disposed of the knife before getting in the car and driving to Westerville so Carpenter could attend a court hearing in Franklin County Monday morning.
Goe also said Delaware County Sheriff’s deputies received a call Saturday from a Westerville woman who claimed that Carpenter and McKnight had been with her and had been bragging about the murder. Carpenter and McKnight were then arrested Saturday morning by deputies.
Goe reported that Carpenter and McKnight used to reside in Delaware County, but have lived in Kentucky in recent years.
McKnight was interviewed by investigators and reportedly gave statements that she was complicit in the crime and told investigators where they could find Cameron’s body and the knife.
Goe added that the couple was found in possession of Cameron’s car and had made purchases using his credit cards. Goe said the backseat of the car and the defendant’s clothing had blood on them.
Goe asked Sunderman to set a high cash bond for both and after hearing the details of the case Sunderman set McKnight’s bond at $1 million and stipulated that the full amount must be paid, not the usual 10 per cent. He ordered that Carpenter be held without bond.
Sunderman told the couple, who are reportedly engaged, that authorities in Kentucky have issued warrants for their arrest and said police would be filing paperwork to extradite them back to Kentucky to face the charges.
Sunderman told Carpenter that if convicted, he could face life in prison or a death sentence for the murder. Sunderman also set a hearing for May 22 at 9:30 a.m.
Carpenter and McKnight were in the Delaware County Jail Monday.
