Background: Brittany Fuhr-Storms (GoFundMe). Insets (top to bottom): James Rothenbusch and Rick Sheppard (Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office).
An Ohio woman whose body was found in a discarded storage tote earlier this month was pregnant, and two men have been arrested in connection with her “suspicious death,” police said.
Brittany Fuhr-Storms, 28, was found on Aug. 3 after police responded to reports of a dead body found in Jackson Township, Ohio. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office deputies said that Fuhr-Storms’ naked body was found stuffed into a storage tote, and an autopsy revealed she was pregnant at the time of her death. After police found her last known address, the investigation into her death led authorities to a home in Middletown, Ohio.
Officers executed a narcotics search warrant at the home, leading to the arrest of two men who said they knew what happened to Fuhr-Storms, police said.
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During an Aug. 7 press conference about the case, Middletown police said that Fuhr-Storms’ body was found “wrapped in towels and a tarp” inside a tote that was originally believed to be a cooler. Jackson Township Police Chief Mark Bruner described the container as a “storage tote that you would keep large items in, your Christmas tree, possibly something like that.” Police stated that the lid to the tote had been screwed shut, but they were able to remove it and recover the remains, which were later identified as Fuhr-Storms.
The homicide case was referred to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, who identified two suspects — James Rothenbusch and Rick Sheppard — who were both arrested on Aug. 5. After a search warrant was executed at Rothenbusch’s home on suspicions of narcotics, police said “[i]tems related to the death investigation were also observed,” leading to a second warrant.
Rothenbusch and Sheppard were both interviewed by police and asked about Fuhr-Storms’ death. Police said that Sheppard told them she died of an “alleged overdose” and that her body was kept in the shower for four days before they allegedly attempted to dispose of her. Both Rothenbusch and Sheppard reportedly told police that they knew Fuhr-Storms was pregnant.
Authorities stated that the coroner has listed Fuhr-Storms’ cause of death as undetermined.
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During the press conference, police confirmed that they had been investigating Rothenbusch and Sheppard prior to Fuhr-Storms’ case. Police did not go into detail at the press conference but stated that fentanyl and other drug paraphernalia were seized during their initial search.
Police said that Fuhr-Storms’ case was considered a “suspicious death.” Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Jeremy Roy said, “The fact of the matter is, these gentlemen have some guys in custody that were there at the time she died. That’s a problem. They don’t have any 911 calls, they don’t have anybody going for help. That’s an issue.”
Rothenbusch was charged with five felonies — corrupting another with drugs/specific to a pregnant woman, tampering with evidence, gross abuse of a corpse, drug trafficking, and drug possession, as well as failure to report a crime or death and possession of drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors.
Sheppard was charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence, both felonies. Both men are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 13.
