Post last updated at 12:55 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 7:
Lawrence police on Saturday arrested a man suspected in four shooting deaths in a small suburb of Dayton, Ohio.
Stephen Marlow, 39, is the primary suspect in the deaths of four people, Clyde and Eva Knox and Sarah and Kayla Anderson, who were all killed Friday afternoon, according to the Butler Township, Ohio Police Department.
Police believed Marlow left the scene of the shootings, drove to Interstate 70 and headed west out of Ohio, according to a Facebook post from the department prior to Marlow’s arrest.
Laura McCabe, a spokesperson for the Lawrence Police Department, said via email early Sunday that “Clear multiagency communication on a national and regional level, followed a coordinated proactive team effort by our Patrol department, and ultimately an alert officer, resulted in an arrest without incident.”
McCabe said on-duty personnel had reason to believe Marlow was in Lawrence, so patrol supervisors initiated a search.
“An on-duty officer observed a vehicle matching the vehicle’s description turn eastbound onto W. 23rd from Ousdahl Rd and relayed the information” around 9 p.m. Saturday, McCabe said. “As personnel were in route, the vehicle turned into a parking lot off 23rd Street, where the suspect exited the vehicle. The suspect was safely taken into custody.”
“We are extremely proud of our officers’ work tonight and thankful for the peaceful outcome,” she said.
The Butler Township police department posted that the investigation was ongoing and only limited details could be released. They said they did not believe anyone else was involved in the killings. McCabe said LPD could not comment further on the outside agency’s investigation.
Marlow posted a video of himself online that the Butler Township department was aware of, their Facebook post stated.
“Our investigators have determined this video was published sometime after yesterday’s incident,” according to the post, published Saturday evening prior to Marlow’s arrest. “We understand the ideas and language in the video are startling and that is why our investigators are working around the clock to ensure Mr. Marlow is brought into custody.”
In the two-minute video, posted online by some Ohio news outlets, Marlow says he believes his family was “operated on with mind control.” He says his actions are for his family’s future, and he hopes that “if he survives,” his family will visit him in prison.
“Dozens of individuals who know Marlow have been interviewed, several search warrants have been served, and investigators continue to pursue all available leads,” according to the Butler Township department’s post.
All arrestees and defendants in criminal cases should be presumed not guilty unless and until they are convicted.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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