A man has been found guilty of murder and additional charges after deliberately hitting a 64-year-old woman with his pickup truck and using her dead body for sexual relations.
The perpetrator, 31-year-old Colby Martin, was found guilty of carrying out the heinous act before relocating the woman’s body to an isolated woodland area located several miles away.
Van Buren County officials disclosed that the distressing incident occurred in 2021 when the victim, Melody Rohrer, was out for a jog. Martin, who did not know Rohrer prior to the incident, purposefully struck her with his vehicle. He then brutally moved her body into his truck, committing grotesque sexual acts.
Following a thorough legal proceeding, Martin was found guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday, June 14. This conviction comes with a compulsory life imprisonment sentence.
Although Martin conceded to striking Rohrer with his vehicle and abandoning her body in St. Joseph County during a police interview, he adamantly denied any allegations of sexual offenses. His defense attorney attempted to persuade the jury throughout the trial that the incident was an unfortunate accident.
Richard Rohrer, the victim’s grief-stricken husband, expressed relief upon hearing of the conviction but stated, “There is no joy in my family’s heart today.”