Convicted murderer Bruce released from FMC

June 15, 2006

LANCASTER — Convicted murderer David Lance Bruce was released from Fairfield Medical Center today after what officials say was a suicide attempt Monday, Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said.

Bruce was convicted Friday on two counts of aggravated murder, one count each of murder and kidnapping and two counts of aggravated robbery.

He is in the Fairfield County Jail awaiting sentencing.

Convicted SK in Coma After Suspected Suicide Attempt

June 15, 2006

LANCASTER, Ohio -- A man who was found guilty last week of aggravated murder, robbery and kidnapping in the death of a Fairfield County woman was in a coma on Tuesday after a suspected failed attempt at suicide.

David Lance Bruce, who was found guilty on Friday, was in critical but stable condition and is being considered a high-risk prisoner by the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office, NBC 4's Erin Tate reported.

Bruce was indicted in connection with two other murders in Delaware County, Tate reported.

Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said that a prisoner noticed Bruce was slumped over his bed at about 5:30 a.m. Monday. The prisoner then summoned a deputy who found Bruce unresponsive.

Bruce was rushed to the hospital where he remains with a guard at the door, Tate reported.

"Our suspicion is that this is an attempted suicide and that he had been hoarding medications over a number of days," Phalen said.

According to Phalen, Bruce had been taking regular medications while in the Fairfield County Jail.

"What can happen many times with drugs dispensed by our staff is that they can simulate taking it and hold it in their tongue or the corner of their mouth," Phalen said.

Investigators are waiting for the results of a toxicology report to determine the substance that is in Bruce's system.

Phalen said there is also the possibility that another prisoner in his cellblock might have given him some medications.

While Phalen said a previous evaluation of Bruce never showed him to be suicidal, he will be put into an isolated cell when he is released from the hospital and returns to the jail.

Accused Serial Killer Found Guilty In First Trial

June 11, 2006

LANCASTER, Ohio -- After deliberating for 24 hours, a Fairfield County jury found David Lance Bruce guilty Friday in the death a woman found in a home under construction.

Bruce was found guilty on two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated robbery, one count of murder and one count of kidnapping.

The home sits in the town of Baltimore, in northern Fairfield County. The house was not yet occupied, but prosecutors argued that Bruce would have been familiar with it because he worked on the house.

Bruce has also been indicted in two other deaths in Delaware County, where two women were found dumped in rural areas in 2005.

Bruce was not convicted on the specifications that could have sentenced him to death.

He is set to stand trial in connection with the Delaware County cases in November.

Trial For Accused Serial Killer Begins

May 26, 2006

LANCASTER, Ohio -- Prosecutors in two Central Ohio counties said they believe that David Lance Bruce is a serial killer. The first efforts to prove that began in Lancaster on Wednesday.

Bruce is accused of stabbing 35-year-old Robin Brown to death inside a new home under construction in January 2005, NBC 4's Holly Hollingsworth reported.

The home sits in the town of Baltimore, in northern Fairfield County. The house was not yet occupied, but prosecutors said Bruce would have been familiar with it.

"Because he once worked on that house. He used to put up and take down scaffolding for stucco work," said Fairfield County Assistant Prosecutor Paul Moreheart.

Bruce has also been indicted in two other deaths in Delaware County in 2005. All three victims have some factors in common.

"Robin Brown, as you'll find out, was a prostitute," said defense attorney Andrew Stevenson.

Prosecutors showed jurors crime scene photos of the bloody room where Brown was stabbed multiple times, saying there was proof that Bruce was there.

"In this room, on one of the walls, is his palm print -- and it's in her blood," Moreheart said.

Defense attorneys insist that Bruce was not involved.

"My client did not take the life of Robin Renee Brown," Stevenson said.

Prosecutors alleged that DNA also points to Bruce.

Defense attorneys have already started to tell jurors that evidence is not iron clad.

"There are problems with the DNA in this case," Stevenson said. If convicted, Bruce could face the death penalty. He is set to stand trial in connection with the Delaware County cases in November.

Man Charged With 3 Women's Slayings

Bodies Found In 2005

February 24, 2006

A Delaware County grand jury indicted a man Friday on 13 counts, including murder and rape, in connection with the deaths of two women whose bodies were found last year.

David L. Bruce was charged with the murders of Melonie M. Carr and Tawana L. Beane, as well as the assault and rape of a third victim, according to the Delaware County prosecutor's office.

Investigators called Bruce, 42, a serial killer. He allegedly raped and killed three women in two counties, within three months, NBC 4's Nancy Burton reported.

Two painters discovered Carr's partially clothed body Jan. 14, 2005, as they were driving along Africa Road.

The painters said they were driving through Alum Creek State Park when they spotted something near the road. They said they drove back to the scene and found the body.

Fourteen days later, a woman's partially clothed body was found on the front porch of a new home under construction near Baltimore. She was later identified as 35-year-old Robin Brown.

Beane's body was found in March 2005, about 20 feet from Africa Road, just south of state Route 36/37.

Beane, 40, was last seen Jan. 10, 2005, in the area of Cleveland Avenue and Hudson Street.

The two slayings in Delaware County occurred four miles apart, NBC 4 reported.

Prosecutors said the three women were known prostitutes and they were either strangled or smothered. Deputies said scientific evidence linked Bruce to the Delaware County slayings.

Toxicology reports originally showed that the women died of drug overdoses, but further investigation showed that Carr, 33, and Beane, were killed, NBC 4 reported.

Delaware County Prosecutor David Yost said that there was another victim in Franklin County who allegedly escaped Bruce in 2004.

Bruce is being held in the Fairfield County Jail in connection with the Baltimore-area murder. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death or receive life in prison without parole.

Connections Explored Between Women's Deaths

Victims' Bodies Were Found 4 Miles Apart

May 3, 2005

Officials said there is growing evidence that two women whose bodies were found just four miles apart in southern Delaware County could have been murdered by the same person, NBC 4's Natalie Walston reported.

Toxicology reports originally showed that the women died of drug overdoses, but further investigation showed that Melonie Carr, 33, and Tawana Beane, 40, were killed, Walston reported.

Beane's body was found in March about 20 feet from Africa Road, which is just south of state Route 36/37.

Beane was last seen Jan. 10 in the area of Cleveland Avenue and Hudson Street.

Delaware County Sheriff Al Myers said the body could have been at the Delaware County location for about 60 days.

Two painters discovered Carr's partially clothed body Jan. 14 as they were driving along Africa Road.

The painters said they were driving through Alum Creek State Park when they spotted something near the road. They said they drove back to the scene and found the body.

Carr was wearing a lot of silver necklaces, as well as rings on her fingers and a bracelet, Andrews reported. She had a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist that said "Macoy" with an artistic "a," Andrews reported.

Myers said that Carr had cocaine in her system, but new reports showed that she was strangled.

"The coroner has ruled that Melonie, while she did have cocaine in her system, her actual cause of death was manual strangulation," Myers said.

Myers said Beane might have been suffocated.

There are similarities between the two deaths, Walston reported. The women's bodies likely were dumped in the same week, they were from the same neighborhood on Columbus' east side, and both were convicted of prostitution, Walston reported.

"We're not going to say they are together, but there's enough similarities that there maybe somebody that has committed these acts," Myers said. "We're definitely looking at that venue."

Columbus police are helping with the investigation. Officials said they have followed up on a few leads, but have no suspects.

Officials Investigate Bodies Found Just Miles Apart

March 15, 2005

The body of a woman found on the side of a road Monday night in Delaware County has been identified as a grandmother who was last seen in January, NBC 4's Natalie Walston reported.

The body of Tawana L. Beane, 40, was found at about 5 p.m. Monday about 20 feet from Africa Road, which is just south of state Route 36/37.

Beane, who was a mother and grandmother, was last seen Jan. 10 in the area of Cleveland Avenue and Hudson Street.

Investigators identified Beane through fingerprints.

Delaware County Sheriff Al Myers said the body could have been at the Delaware County location for about 60 days.

"The crime scene provided no information on any physical signs of trauma, bruising or stabs or bullet holes for the cause of death," Myers said.

Police said Beane was a prostitute. She was arrested for soliciting twice in 2001, Walston reported.

She lived just one street away from another known prostitute whose body was found Jan. 14 on Lewis Center Road near Africa Road. Melanie Carr's partially clothed body was found at about the same time Beane was reported to be missing.

Beane's body was found about 4 miles from where Carr, 33, was discovered.

The sheriff's office said it cannot say if the two murders are connected.

"There are similarities between the two," Myers said. "We don't know if they knew each other or were friends or anything like that. We'll look at them, and explore all avenues."

News of Beane's death shocked her family, especially her 23-year-old daughter, Tenira. She said she'll remember her mother as loving despite her troubled past.

"That's somebody's mother. That's my mom," Tenira Beane said. "If you know something, please, please call in and let them know."

Sheriff: More Than 50 To Be Questioned In Woman's Death

Victim Had History Of Prostitution, Sheriff Says

January 28, 2005

The Fairfield County Sheriff said Friday that more than 50 people were being interviewed who could have access to a home where a woman's body was found Thursday morning.

A construction worker found Robin Brown's body, which was wearing only a shirt, shortly after arriving at the job site in the Woodside Meadows subdivision.

Her body was found on the home's front porch. Investigators said blood was found inside the house and there appeared to be signs of a struggle, NBC 4 reported.

Brown, 35, was apparently stabbed multiple times within the house, and then she made her way to the front porch where she collapsed, authorities said.

Sheriff Dave Phalen said that Brown had a criminal history involving prostitution and other offenses.

"We're trying to find out what she was doing the last hours of her life," Phalen said. "We're interviewing friends, family members. We're also talking to people who had access to that home where she was killed."

The $300,000 home was two weeks away from completion, NBC 4's Mike Bowersock reported.

Builder Henry DiYanni of DiYanni Homes said his company was going to hire a security firm to patrol his homes that are under construction.

Anyone with information should call the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office at (740) 687-6751.

Partially Clothed Body Found At Construction Site

Police: Woman Stabbed Multiple Times

January 28, 2005

A woman's body was found Thursday morning on the front porch of a new house under construction near Baltimore, NBC 4's Mike Bowersock reported.

Thursday evening, police identified the woman as 35-year-old Robin Brown.

A construction worker found the body, which was wearing only a shirt, shortly after arriving at the job site, located in the Woodside Meadows subdivision.

Investigators said a lot of blood was found in the house, and there appeared to be signs of a struggle. The woman was apparently stabbed multiple times within the house, and then she made her way to the front porch, where she collapsed.

Sheriff Dave Phalen said the death appeared to be a homicide.

"The victim was nude with the exception that she had a top on," Phalen said. "She was on the porch, where she collapsed."

Her clothes were not found in the house, Bowersock reported. Detectives said Brown had a history of prostitution.

An autopsy will be performed.

There did not appear to be any forced entry. The sheriff said few people would have had access to the house, possibly only construction workers.

The $300,000 house is just two weeks from completion.

Anyone with information should call the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office at (740) 653-5223 or (800) 808-5223.

Woman's Partially Clothed Body Found Near Road

Sheriff: Body Reportedly Dumped After Thursday's Rain

January 15, 2005

A woman found dead at the Alum Creek State Park has been identified as 33-year-old Melonie M. Carr, NBC 4 reported.

Two painters discovered the body Friday afternoon as they were driving on a Delaware County road.

The partially clothed body was found at about 12:15 p.m. off Africa Road, NBC 4's Elenora Andrews reported.

Sheriff Al Myers said the body was dumped alongside the road after Thursday night's rain. He said there was no obvious sign of trauma or cause of death. Myers is treating the death as a homicide.

"They're right down from the bike trail where there's a lot of traffic in the spring and summer, but not much in the winter," Myers said.

The painters said they were driving through Alum Creek State Park when they spotted something near the road. They said they drove back to the scene and found the body.

The men then called 911.

Caller: We just discovered a body on Lewis Center Road.

Dispatcher: Do you know where at on Lewis Center Road?

Caller: Lewis Center by the bike path.

Dispatcher: The person's definitely been dead for a while?

Caller: Oh yeah. It's all twisted up … and it's got a pair of white underwear.

Carr was wearing a lot of silver necklaces, as well as rings on her fingers and a bracelet, Andrews reported. She had a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist that said "Macoy" with an artistic "a," Andrews reported.

An autopsy was scheduled to determine the cause of death.

David Lance Bruce

David Lance Bruce