Sheriff: Victim's bones brought here

CELINA - Two suspects linked to the homicide of 21-year-old Ryan R. Zimmerman of Columbus are believed to have brought the man's bones to Mercer County.

Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey reported the information during a Thursday morning news conference where he shared major updates on what he described as a complicated and unusual case that has taken many twists and turns.

Grey said Sarah Buzzard, 30, and her wife, Naria Jenna Whitaker, 33, both of Marion, Indiana, were involved in the homicide of Zimmerman, whose remains were found on Jan. 3, 2016, east of U.S. 127 near the mouth of Coldwater Creek. Only Zimmerman's torso was found, Grey said.

"We do believe they are the ones that brought the bones here," Grey said. "Celina is on your way to Marion from Columbus, so it was an area they were familiar with from driving through."

Grey said to his knowledge the couple had no connection to the local area aside from their familiarity with roads near and along the way to and from Columbus and Marion, Indiana.

"It's a pretty easy shot from Columbus to here, you know, (U.S.) 33 and (State Route) 29," he said. "You get on 29 and you just drive straight west and you're going to hit Marion."

Grey also revealed other details on Thursday.

"Ryan was from Corbin, Kentucky, and he had recently moved to Columbus, Ohio, to live with friends that he met online. Ryan was pretty active on social media accounts and different platforms, met a lot of people from all over the country," Grey said. "He met people from Columbus and decided to go up there and spend some time with them and live with them."

Zimmerman had used social platforms to communicate with people. The sheriff's office over the last 14 months had served numerous search warrants on electronic media companies, Grey said.

Sheriff's office detectives worked with Jennifer Lester, an analyst with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

"As the investigation progressed, we were able to zero in on the location of the crime and we gathered more information," he said, adding that detectives then reached out to Columbus Police Department's cold case and surveillance units.

They developed suspects who lived in Marion, Indiana, and a potential witness in Oak Island, North Carolina, receiving assistance along the way from Marion and Oak Island police departments and prosector offices in Mercer County and Grant County, Indiana, Grey said.

"The investigation led us to where Ryan was murdered and dismembered," he said. "We received a search warrant and it was executed at that location in Columbus, Ohio."

That happened earlier this month, when the crime scene was processed and critical evidence was located and examined at the BCI crime lab, Grey said.

Investigators learned the car that had transported Zimmerman's remains to Mercer County had been traded in to a car dealership shortly after his murder, Grey said. A search warrant was executed and critical forensic evidence was found.

"The court process is going to begin now and we're going to do our best to give Ryan Zimmerman and his family the justice and the closure they deserve," Grey said. "I wish I could give them Ryan back but there's no way to do that, so this is the best we can do for them."

The case dates back almost six years.

A woman walking her dog Jan. 3, 2016, near state park land reportedly found several bones and notified the sheriff's office. The skeletal remains were lying in plain view southeast of the mouth of Coldwater Creek, Grey had said.

Initially, the bones were thought to belong to deer because people sometimes dump such carcasses in the area.

However, some bones raised suspicions, so officials took them to the Montgomery County Coroner's Office. A forensic anthropologist determined that the bones were human.

A three-day search of the area by sheriff's deputies, BCI agents and Ohio Department of Natural Resources officers yielded the skeletal remains of a torso, according to Grey. They were aided by a cadaver dog, Grey said. It was apparent the head, arms and legs had been severed from the body.

The sheriff's office became the lead investigatory agency in the case.