UPDATE: 06:30PM 04/17/2023
Darke County Sheriff Mark Whittaker and Darke County Coroner Dr. Timothy Kathman release the identity of both victims of last week’s double homicide. Michelle V. Phipps, age 63, of 4289 Weavers- Fort Jefferson Road Greenville, Ohio and James T. Donnelly, age 57, of the same address. Both victims were stabbed to death.
Deputies discovered the victims early Friday morning, April 14, 2023, in their residence in Neave Township. The discovery was prompted by reports made in the Sheriff’s Office lobby by acquaintances of the victim and the suspect reporting suspicion that a homicide might have occurred at the home.
Darke County deputies responded to the home on April 13, 2023 at approximately 6:30 PM on a 911 hang-up call from the residence. Upon arrival, Adam Uchyn met deputies in the driveway. Uchyn is a resident of this address and claims to have made the call. He filed a report alleging a theft and assault had occurred and the perpetrator had left the scene. This report was a ruse he created to prevent the deputies from discovering the murder that had likely just occurred.
Investigators now believe the 911 caller is victim, Michele Phipps. The call abruptly ended with only the address provided by the caller. 911 Dispatchers attempted to call the number back but there was no answer. The deputies were advised that they were responding to a 911 hang-up. The deputies did not know the gender of the 911 caller. The deputies took the complaint from Adam Uchyn at face value since they had no further information and was unaware of what had actually happened inside the house. Uchyn remained outside during the interaction, which lasted approximately 40 minutes.
Adam Uchyn, as of the time of this press release, is being held in a jail in Chicago, IL awaiting extradition on a felony probation violation warrant. This case remains under investigation and is being reviewed by Darke County Prosecutor R. Kelly Ormsby, III pending appropriate charges on this homicide case.
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UPDATE: 10:00PM 04/14/2023
As of 9:15pm on 04/14/2023 Darke County Sheriff's Office received notification that the Chicago Police Department has taken this subject Adam Uchyn into custody on a felony probation warrant out of Darke County. This warrant is unrelated to the homicide.
Thank you to the Chicago Police Department and Elmhurst IL, Police Department who assisted us throughout this afternoon in locating Uchyn.
This case is still early in the investigation and updates will be provided as the case progresses.
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Darke County Sheriff Mark Whittaker reports that his office is investigating a double homicide at a residence in the 4200 block of Weavers-Fort Jefferson Road in Neave Township, south of Greenville, Ohio.
On April 14, 2023 at approximately 4:56 AM, two adult female witnesses came in to the Darke County Sheriff’s Office to report a possible homicide. Darke County Deputies responded to an address on Weavers-Fort Jefferson Road to investigate and discovered the bodies of one adult male and one adult female.
Investigators from the Darke County Sheriff’s Office and the Darke County Coroner’s Office have been called to the scene to investigate.
Darke County Deputies are seeking Adam Uchyn, age 39, a known resident of the address where the homicide is located. He is a person of interest in this case. Uchyn is believed to have left the area in a white 2022 Chevrolet Equinox, Ohio license plate JDM8117.
Anyone who may have information on this case or the whereabouts of this subject are encouraged to contact the Darke County Sheriff’s Office at 937-548-2020.
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