Another teen charged in murder

FORT RECOVERY - A Fort Recovery High School graduate and former softball player is the third person to be arrested and charged in connection with the murder of a Portland, Indiana, man, according to a Jay County prosecutor's news release.

Hannah Knapke, 18, Fort Recovery, was arrested in connection to the Jan. 12 murder of Shea Briar, 31, Portland, Indiana. Investigators reportedly flew to Marshalltown, Iowa, to interview Knapke on Jan. 14.

Last week, former Fort Recovery High School head softball coach Esther Stephen, 31, and former assistant softball coach Shelby Hiestand, 18, both of Portland, were arrested and charged with Briar's murder. Briar and Stephen were involved in a legal dispute over a shared child, according to court documents.

Knapke graduated from Fort Recovery in 2019 and played softball while Stephen was coach. According to a probable cause affidavit, Stephen and Hiestand met with Knapke in a church parking lot to tell her of their plan to murder Briar and asked to borrow her car. Knapke reportedly consented.

During interviews with investigators on Jan. 14, Stephen and Hiestand reportedly admitted they had conspired to kill Briar. According to the affidavit, Stephen was angry because Briar had petitioned the court on Nov. 12 to establish parenting time rights for their child and had asked the court to change the child's last name.

Stephen filed an objection to the petition on Nov. 22, claiming Briar had "not been an active participant before birth or after birth of the minor child" and had been absent from their daughter's life, according to the filing. A hearing had been scheduled for Feb. 2.

Stephen and Hiestand told investigators they had gone to Hiestand's residence at 1391 West 200 N. to pick up a .22 rifle and ammunition, according to the affidavit. The two reportedly dropped off Stephen's child with a friend late in the evening on Jan. 11.

Knapke reportedly told investigators she met with Stephen and Hiestand in a church parking lot in Portland around 10:30 p.m. Jan. 11. While at the church, Stephen and Hiestand discussed with Knapke their plan to kill Briar, according to the affidavit.

Stephen and Hiestand reportedly asked to use Knapke's vehicle in case someone saw Briar getting into the vehicle because Knapke had no known connection to him. According to the affidavit, Knapke agreed to let them use her car with full knowledge that Stephen and Hiestand planned to kill Briar.

Around midnight, Stephen called Briar asking if he wanted to "hang out," according to the affidavit. The women reportedly picked up Briar from his residence before driving to a bridge on County Road 125 W. in Jay County. Stephen told investigators that "she was to distract (Briar) so that (Hiestand) could remove the .22 rifle from the back of the vehicle" and shoot Briar.

After arriving at the bridge, everyone got out of the vehicle, and Stephen and Briar began to walk away from the vehicle, according to the affidavit. Knapke was reportedly standing near Hiestand when Hiestand shot Briar in the back.

Authorities reportedly found Briar injured on County Road 125 West near County Road 850 North shortly before 2 a.m. Jan. 12, according to the affidavit. Jay County Prosecutor Wesley Schemenaur said a motorist had called 911 after seeing an apparently injured man in the roadway.

Briar was transported to Adams Memorial Hospital in Decatur, Indiana, where doctors confirmed he had been shot in the back, according to the affidavit. He later was transported to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was pronounced dead between 5 and 6 a.m., according to Schemenaur.

The affidavit said preliminary autopsy results indicated the cause of death was a gunshot wound that entered his right mid-back and penetrated his heart.

Stephen and Hiestand both pleaded not guilty to an unclassified felony charge of murder on Friday in Jay County Circuit Court. The two appeared for their initial court hearings by videoconference from the jail.

Judge Brian Hutchinson said if convicted, Stephen and Hiestand could each face 45 to 65 years in prison with a recommended penalty of 55 years and a maximum fine of $10,000. Stephen and Hiestand's cases are scheduled for a pretrial hearing at 2 p.m. March 30. They continue to be held without bail in the Jay County Security Center. An initial hearing has not been set for Knapke.

The investigation was conducted by the Jay County Sheriff's Department with assistance from the Indiana State Police, the Portland Police Department, the Dunkirk Police Department and the Jay County Prosecutor's office.

Fort Recovery Superintendent Larry Brown placed both coaches on immediate paid administrative leave on Jan. 14. The women were directed to refrain from any contact and/or communications with district students, according to the documents.

Brown last Friday released a statement saying the district "will proceed with termination action" for the 2020 supplemental contracts of Stephen and Hiestand tonight at the advice of the district's legal counsel. The Fort Recovery board of education meets at 5:30 p.m. in the board conference room.

"As part of the termination process, the superintendent will report the reasons for termination to the Ohio Department of Education for disposition consideration of any licenses, certificates or pupil activity permits," the statement reads. "This termination will also suspend the full amount of their supplemental contract payments of $3,894.66 and $2,225.52, respectively."

The payments would have been paid at the end of the softball season had the two coaches worked the entire season, according to the statement.

Off-season conditioning activities resumed for softball players on Wednesday under the supervision of volunteer coaches, per the statement.

"The student-athletes on this year's softball team have met multiple times, this week, with our school counselor, the athletic director and the high school principal to share their collective thoughts," according to Brown's statement. "On behalf of our players, athletic department and our schools; the administrative team would like to thank those individuals who supported all of the necessary actions of the schools during this unfortunate non-school related event. It is also our hope that everyone will support the 2020 FRHS Softball Team by attending their games and events."