A Butler County man convicted two years ago in the death of his fiancee in 2011 has been denied early release. John Carter has served almost 18 months of a three-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Katelyn Markham.
Carter pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in 2024. He filed for early release last October.
Butler County Common Pleas Judge Dan Haughey denied that request Friday.
Speaking with WVXU after Friday's decision, Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser praised the judge's decision, saying Haughey provided a thorough analysis of the case.
"He took into consideration, appropriately, that for all the years this case languished undiscovered, the defendant never came forward, never told the truth," Gmoser said.
Shortly after Carter's request for early release, Gmoser says he decided to make what he called an unusual move. Rather than arguing against early release, Gmoser asked Carter to do something he's so far refused to do: explain the events around Markham's death.
"I spelled out in a document what I needed him to do, and his attorney talked to his client in the courtroom [during a November hearing] and said that they wanted to have a continuance of this, and my understanding was to do that, and the only thing that was left to do was to meet with him at the prison and go through what he had to say and what his answers to the questions would be," Gmoser said. "His attorney told us a few weeks after that hearing that [Carter] was rejecting the idea."
Markham's remains were found in 2013, but no one had been charged until new information came to light in 2023.
In filing for early release, Carter's attorney said he's been a model inmate and serves as a tutor and mentor for other inmates. He's serving his sentence at the North Central Correctional Institution in Marion, Ohio.
Gmoser has said Carter has shown no remorse and should serve every millisecond of his sentence.
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