Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer addressed reporters at a press conference in Xenia on Jan. 25, announcing that two suspects had been arrested in the shooting deaths of William "Skip" Brown and Sherri Mendenhall. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine also spoke at the conference. (Photo by Dylan Taylor-Lehman)
Two suspects arrested in deaths of Brown, Mendenhall
- Published: January 25, 2017
Update @ Wednesday, Jan. 25, 4 p.m.
The suspects were arraigned at 1:30 p.m. at Xenia Municipal Court. Both are being held on $750,000 bonds.
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At a press conference today, Jan. 25, Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer announced the arrest of Dustin M. Merrick on two counts of aggravated murder in the shooting deaths of William “Skip” Brown and Sherri Mendenhall, whose bodies were found at their neighboring residences on 4444 E. Enon Road on Jan. 15.
Sheriff Fischer also announced the arrest of Merrick’s brother, Bret S. Merrick, on two counts of complicity to aggravated murder and related charges.
Dustin Merrick was arrested Tuesday night at his residence in Xenia, according to Sheriff Fischer. Bret Merrick was arrested at his place of employment.
No further information was provided about the brothers’ connection to Brown and Mendenhall. Locally, Dustin Merrick was known to have worked on construction projects in Yellow Springs. Sheriff Fischer also did not disclose details about possible motives for the murders.
The case is scheduled to be arraigned today at Xenia Municipal Court.
See the Jan. 26 issue of the News for additional details. A more in-depth report on the arrests will appear in next week’s paper, Feb. 2.
3 Responses to “Two suspects arrested in deaths of Brown, Mendenhall”
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Joan,
Thanks for commenting. Just to be clear, at this morning’s press conference, Sheriff Fischer did not state that Dustin confessed. The News does not currently have any information about the arrests or suspects beyond those statements given at today’s press conference.
Audrey
I understand Dustin confessed to shooting Mendenhall, at the outset. He worked with Skip doing roofing locally. I hope people who want a kinder, more gentle Police force will think before they speak: there are times when force is necessary, and the important thing is to know when these times are and to act appropriately.
While acknowledging “innocent until proven guilty”, if they truly have a solid case here, it will be a great relief to resolve this so quickly…