June 10, 2004

Second extension granted in Michael Rittenhouse case

For the second time, the Greene County prosecutor’s office has been granted an extension to seek from a grand jury an indictment of Michael Rittenhouse, who is accused of murdering his classmate Tim Lopez.

The deadline has been extended to Sept. 16 from June 16, Suzanne Schmidt, the first prosecuting attorney for Greene County, said on Tuesday.

Both the prosecutor’s office and Rittenhouse’s attorneys agreed to the extension to give both sides more time to continue their investigations into the case, said Schmidt and Jon Paul Rion, one of Rittenhouse’s attorneys. Rittenhouse also has waived his right to a speedy trial, Schmidt said.

Schmidt declined to further elaborate on the need for the extension, though she did say extending grand jury deadlines in such a serious case — Rittenhouse could face the death penalty — is not unusual.

Rion said that allowing for more time to investigate the case helps both sides better understand the other’s position. The attorney said that his office and the prosecutor’s office are “showing all their cards.” He said that all cases should work like this.

Rion said that his investigation includes interviewing witnesses, meeting with the state, reviewing statements and “attempting to corroborate information we have.”

“I think we’re at the final stage and there are some points on both sides we want to make sure are true and clear,” Rion said.

The original deadline for the case to go before the grand jury was April 20.

Rittenhouse, who is 20 and graduated from Yellow Springs High School in 2002, was arraigned in Xenia Municipal Court on Feb. 20 on charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

Earlier that day, investigators unearthed the remains of Lopez in the backyard of the Allen Street home Rittenhouse shares with his mother and brother. The Greene County coroner’s office determined that Lopez died from a blunt force trauma to the head.

He continues to be held without bond in the Greene County jail.

Lopez was an 18-year-old senior at YSHS when he disappeared on Jan. 22, 2002. His car was found later that day near Grinnell Mill in the South Glen. Investigators searched for Lopez in the Glen, John Bryan State Park and Clifton Gorge for several days. He had been missing for a little more than two years before his remains were found on Feb. 20, 2004.

—Robert Mihalek