HAMILTON, Ohio (Scripps News Cincinnati) — John Carter will spend 36 months in jail for the death of his then-fiancee Katelyn Markham in 2011, the maximum amount to which he could be sentenced.
The sentence was handed down in a packed court room Thursday afternoon.
John Carter appears in court Friday, June 7, 2024, to enter a plea of guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of his fiancée. (Court TV)
Carter pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in June, just weeks before he was scheduled to go on trial.
Originally, prosecutors were pursuing two murder charges for Carter. One charge said he “purposefully” caused the death of Markham, while the other charge said he caused her death as the “proximate result” of committing a felony of violence.
Carter’s attorneys told Scripps News Cincinnati that by him pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, he’s admitting to accidentally causing Markham’s death while he was committing a misdemeanor assault and she died. The attorneys did not specify the type of misdemeanor assault.
A grand jury originally indicted Carter in March 2023 following a months-long review by investigators from the county prosecutor’s office.
He has been free since his arraignment in April 2023 after posting a $1 million bond shortly after the indictment.
Markham was days away from her 22nd birthday when she vanished in August 2011 from her Fairfield townhouse. Her skeletal remains were found on April 7, 2013, in a remote wooded area in Indiana about 30 miles from her home.
Her death was ruled a homicide, but the cause of death has not been determined.
During Carter’s arraignment, Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser presented evidence that included documents found through a search warrant shortly before Carter’s indictment.
The documents found in Carter’s home include writings about killing and death. Gmoser read several aloud in court on Monday.
“Deep down, I love her.
You want to kill her, but I love her.
She must die.
I can’t kill her.
Yes, you can,” one of the documents read.
Another document reads “I slit your wrist with the key to your heart.”
The prosecutor referenced a forensic anthropology report that indicates there was sharp instrumental trauma to Markham’s wrist.
Gmoser said the documents found in Carter’s home did not have a date on them.
While she was missing, Carter assisted police and volunteers with searches for years. He told WCPO 9 in an August 2011 interview that he was “absolutely terrified.”
He also said at the time he was hopeful Markham could “fight her way out” if she was somewhere “because she’s strong.”
When he spoke to Scripps News Cincinnati that same month about being interviewed by police, Carter said he wasn’t worried.
“I know that I’m more than cooperative and I will always be cooperative until we get Katelyn back,” Carter said.
This story was originally written by Felicia Jordan and Molly Schramm for Scripps News Cincinnati, an E.W. Scripps Company.
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