Slain woman's body mistaken for Halloween decoration

Chillicothe (Ohio) Gazette

Police have identified the woman who was found attached to a chain-link fence in Chillicothe, Ohio, on Tuesday.

The slain woman's body looked like a gruesome Halloween prank to some neighbors and construction workers in the area, WKRC-TV reported.

Chillicothe Police Chief Keith Washburn identified the woman Wednesday as 31-year-old Rebecca J. Cade, of Chillicothe.

Cade's body was found by a man walking his dog, hanging by her shirt sleeve from the fence near an American Electric Power construction site located on Tuesday morning.

Officials said the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and neck and police said "defensive wounds" were found on Cade's arms. Chillicothe Law Director Sherri Rutherford said earlier in the day there was an object involved, although she could not speak to what the object was. Police said a "large rock the size of an orange or grapefruit" was found at the scene with blood on it. Officials said it could be the murder weapon.

The man arrested and charged with murder in connection with Cade's death, 27-year-old Donnie Cochenour Jr., waived his right to a preliminary hearing earlier in the day and was taken back to jail on a $2 million bond. His case will be taken to a grand jury, which convenes again Oct. 23.

Rutherford also said Cochenour's clothes were bloody and he admitted to police that he and Cade had engaged in a physical altercation near the area where her body was found.

Officials said in Wednesday's press conference that Cade was a lifelong resident of Chillicothe.

Ashley Kellough, 30, said Wednesday that she and Cade had been friends for over twenty years, and when she heard it was Cade who had been found, her heart dropped.

"She was cool, calm, collective, had great heart," Kellough said. "She was a great girl."

According to officials, Cade and Cochenour were "some type of acquaintances."

Kellough said she also knew Cochenour when he was a child, after his family moved into her neighborhood.

"I can't believe Donnie would do something like this," Kellough said.

Officials believe "some type of argument" began somewhere in the open field, and a trail of blood lead investigators to believe Cade was running from the suspect. Officials also indicated that Cade had been climbing the fence in an attempt to get out of the area inside the fencing. During the press conference, it was revealed that she likely died on the fence.

Although Washburn stated in the press conference that he had heard Cochenour might have been drunk, police did not perform any chemical testing on Cochenour to see if he was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol at the time he was arrested.

In Cochenour's arraignment hearing Wednesday morning, Rutherford said Cochenour has 21 failure to appear charges and several arrests.. Court records indicate he has been on three years community control sanctions after a second degree misdemeanor of resisting arrest charge, in July 2013.

Cochenour was arrested at about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday after a tip from the community took police and sheriff's officials to a home where Cochenour was found and placed under arrest without incident.

City police Detective "Bud" Lytle said Cade's family requested no contact from media and had no comment.