Federal grand jury indicts 3

TOLEDO - A six-count indictment has been handed down in federal court charging a Wapakoneta mother, her adult daughter and a South African man with participating in a conspiracy that led to the death of Timothy Hovanec, 36, of Wapakoneta.

A federal grand jury returned the indictment in the U.S. District Court's Northern District of Ohio in Toledo, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced Thursday in a news release.

Amanda Hovanec, 35, and Anthony Theodorou, 34, with whom Amanda Hovanec reportedly was in a relationship with, are charged with conspiracy to import a controlled substance, importation of a controlled substance, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and distribution of a controlled substance.

Green, Wapakoneta, who is executive director of the Auglaize County Farm Service Agency, was indicted on one count of accessory after the fact. Green is Amanda Hovanec's mother, according to a federal affadavit.

Amanda Hovanec reportedly killed her estranged husband on April 24 by injecting him with the substance.

Each of the five counts against Amanda Hovanec and Theodorou carries a sentencing penalty enhancement because Timothy Hovanec's death was caused by use of the controlled substance, according to the release.

Timothy and Amanda Hovanec were involved in a divorce case with children in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court, court records show.

Timothy Hovanec was a security engineering officer with the U.S. Department of State, according to the federal affidavit. He and Amanda Hovanec reportedly moved to Germany for his job and were there for roughly two years. Timothy Hovanec was then transferred to South Africa where Amanda Hovanec met Theodorou, according to the affadavit. In 2020, Amanda Hovanec reportedly initiated divorce proceedings against her husband.

In or around February through March 2022, Hovanec and Theodorou conspired to import Etorphine (M99), a schedule I or II controlled substance, into the United States, according to a federal indictment.

The indictment further states on or about April 24 through April 28, 2022, Green, knowing that Hovanec and Theodorou had allegedly caused the death of Timothy Hovanec using M99, assisted the two to hinder and prevent their apprehension, trial and punishment.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Freeman and Alissa M. Sterling are prosecuting the case, the release states. It was investigated by the Toledo FBI, Auglaize County Sheriff's Office, Northwest Ohio Safe Streets Task Force, Ohio BCI, Wapakoneta Police Department, St. Mary's Police Department and the Grand Lake Task Force.

A federal affidavit previously filed and a May 3 FBI news release offer additional details about the alleged crimes.

Timothy Hovanec returned to Wapakoneta to attend a child custody hearing with Amanda Hovanec scheduled for April 22, according to the affidavit. Prior to the hearing the judge ruled there was not enough time to review all the evidence before the hearing. He ordered that Timothy Hovanec be given visitation with their three children from 7 p.m. April 22 until 7 p.m. April 24. The judge also ordered Timothy Hovanec was to be the residential parent of custody and legal custodian for the children from May 28 through Aug. 5, the affidavit states.

According to an FBI news release, on April 24 when Timothy Hovanec dropped off the couple's children at a residence on Middle Pike Road, Wapakoneta, Amanda Hovanec reportedly injected her estranged husband with M99. Theodoru obtained the drug, an animal tranquilizer, from an acquaintance who received it from a veterinarian in South Africa, according to the affidavit. A dash camera in Timothy Hovanec's vehicle captured the events, the affidavit states.

Amanda Hovanec allegedly injected him while he was standing next to his vehicle and pulled on her estranged husband's hand and shirt as he tried to use a cellphone.

"She then aggressively wrestled for the victim's phone, eventually knocking it out of his hand. Hovanec proceeds to pull on the victim's back and neck, pulling the victim to the ground," the FBI release alleges. "She continues to hold the victim around the neck (not choking) until his body goes limp, removes what appeared to be an Apple watch and turns off the vehicle. The victim laid unconscious and unresponsive in the driveway."

Prior to the crime, Amanda Hovanec informed Green of her intention to kill the victim, the release states. She then informed Green it had been done.

Amanda Hovanec reportedly drove the victim's vehicle to a location in Dayton, removed the license plate and discarded the vehicle, the release states. Theodorou reportedly followed Hovanec to Dayton and they rode together back to the residence on Middle Pike Road in Wapakoneta.

Amanda Hovanec and Theodorou, after returning from Dayton, allegedly placed the victim's body in the back of her Honda Pilot. The two agreed Green would transport them to a pre-determined location and Green would return two hours later after they buried the body in a wooded area at the northwest corner of Blank Pike and Wrestle Creek Road in Auglaize County, the FBI release indicates.

When interviewed at the Auglaize County Sheriff's Office on April 27, Amanda Hovanec allegedly confessed to the killing and admitted to injecting her estranged husband in the shoulder with a poison or drug that she understood would kill him within minutes.

She allegedly said she received the drug in the mail roughly a month before killing her estranged husband, according to the affidavit.

Theodorou, when speaking with investigators, allegedly said Amanda Hovanec had been talking about killing Timothy Hovanec for about a year. Due to the custody issue, she felt this was the only way to prevent the children from spending the summer with their father, the affidavit states.

According to the affidavit, Theodorou said he obtained the substance used to kill Timothy Hovanec.

Green while speaking with investigators allegedly acknowledged that she was aware her daughter was planning to do something to Timothy Hovanec but did not believe that anything would actually occur.

According to the affidavit, Green said her role was to get the children into the house away from the driveway. Prior to Timothy Hovanec arriving to return the children Green said she noticed a towel lying on a table in the room near the door leading to the driveway, according to the affidavit. As Green approached the item, her daughter told her to not touch it as it was poison, the affidavit states.

Green initially claimed she had no knowledge Timothy Hovanec was dead, according to the affidavit.

"When asked why she didn't contact law enforcement at any point she said that she was concerned Amanda would be taken from her," the affidavit reads. "Later in the interview, Green added during the drive to take Amanda and Theodorou to bury (Timothy Hovanec's) body she realized that she was now involved."