An Ohio mother of two was allegedly kidnapped and shot to death by a friend of her recently deceased husband — just days after she started letting the suspect stay in her basement, according to cops and reports.
Kaitlyn Lynch, 36, was found dead in the front seat of her vehicle in Tennessee on Aug. 19 after a long police chase the day after she was reportedly kidnapped at gunpoint outside her home more than 300 miles away in suburban Cincinnati, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Lance Miller, 32, was busted behind the wheel with the body beside him and charged with murder, kidnapping, fleeing and abuse of a corpse.
Miller, from Texas, was a friend of Lynch’s husband, who had died in the spring due to an unspecified illness — and was staying with her after arriving in the area just six days earlier, the paper said.
“He had fallen on hard times and she offered to let him stay in her basement,” Lynch’s employer, James Hartke, told the Enquirer.
Kaitlyn Lynch, 36, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by Lance Miller, 32, a friend of her late husband, who recently died of an illness. Her body was found in her car after a chase, police said. GOFUNDME“She was willing to help everyone,” he said of the dead woman, who recently started as his assistant at his law firm.
It was not immediately clear how Miller knew Lynch’s husband. However, he had joined Lynch and her colleagues for drinks after work on Aug. 18, Hartke said — the day Lynch was allegedly kidnapped.
There was talk that Miller harbored romantic feelings for Lynch, but that she wasn’t interested, the employer said.
Lance Miller faces charges of murder, kidnapping, fleeing and abuse of a corpse. CINCINNATI POLICE DEPARTMENTThe woman was on the phone with a friend in front of her home later that night when the line went dead after she was apparently shot, Hartke said he was told.
Co-worker Sherrie Rickman told the paper that Lynch’s daughters — ages 7 and 8 — were her world.
“She was super sweet. She was a really spunky girl. She was a hugger,” she said, adding that Lynch had a law enforcement background.
Miller was arrested after a long chase that ended in Cheatham County, Tennessee. WCPOA GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $70,000 as of Monday morning for Lynch’s funeral and for her daughters.
“We are in complete disbelief that this has happened to our Kaitlyn,” a statement from her family reads.
“Anyone who knew Kaitlyn knew how much she loved being a mom to her two beautiful daughters and how she was always willing to lend a hand. She was funny, beautiful, determined and she will be deeply missed by all,” it adds.
Miller is being held in a Tennessee jail awaiting extradition to Ohio.
