The body of a pregnant Ohio woman was discovered stuffed inside a plastic bin along a rural road, leading to the arrest of two suspects. Two hikers walking along Fort Anthony Road in Jackson Township on August 7 made the grim discovery. They noticed a strong odor coming from a large plastic storage tote on the roadside and decided to investigate.
Inside, they found the body of 28-year-old Brittany Fuhr-Storms wrapped in towels and a tarp. “I didn’t want to open it,” one of the hikers told a 911 operator. “The smell was so bad, you know, I mean, there’s a difference between dead smells and this is not a normal dead smell”, WHIO reported.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation, and an autopsy confirmed that Fuhr-Storms had been pregnant at the time of her death.
Detectives traced her last known whereabouts to an apartment in Middletown, where she had met with two men. Acting on a search warrant, police arrested 52-year-old James Rotherbusch. Inside his home, investigators reported finding a bloodstain on the carpet, a blue tarp, screws, and towels similar to those used to wrap Fuhr-Storms’ body.
According to authorities, Rotherbusch told investigators that Fuhr-Storms died under suspicious circumstances in his home and that her body remained there for several days. “Left Brittany’s body in the shower of the home for several days before putting her body in a tote and driving it out to Fort Anthony Road,” Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Jeremy Roy said at a press conference.
Police also recovered narcotics and other drug paraphernalia from Rotherbusch’s apartment. A second suspect, 47-year-old Ricky J. Sheppard, was later located in Middletown. Deputies said he attempted to flee but was quickly apprehended. Sheppard told investigators that Fuhr-Storms died from a drug overdose and that her body was dumped about a week later.
“He later stated that the deceased died from a drug overdose and she remained in the house for approximately a week,” Deputy Chief Ryan Morgan said. Both men admitted to knowing Fuhr-Storms was pregnant, authorities said. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office has not yet determined her cause or manner of death.
Rotherbusch has been charged with gross abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, corrupting another with drugs, trafficking drugs, possession of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to report a crime or death. Sheppard faces charges of gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
Roy commended law enforcement agencies for their swift cooperation in the case. “Everybody dropped everything as they should when you find out that a mother-to-be was just dumped on the side of the road,” he said. “You don’t always get that cooperation all the time around the US and in Ohio, but in this case, you kind of have to tip your hat.”
The disturbing case has left residents in shock. “I had no clue,” neighbor Cody Lewis told Fox 19. “I had no clue something like that was happening right next door.” The wife of Fuhr-Storms’ twin brother has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for a memorial service for the victim.