Ohio Man Sentenced in Fiancée's Death Nearly 13 Years After She Disappeared

John Carter was sentenced to three years in prison for involuntary manslaughter in the 2011 death and missing persons case surrounding Katelyn Markham in 2011

An Ohio man has been sentenced to three years in prison for involuntary manslaughter in the death of his fiancée — who went missing over 13 years ago.

On Thursday, July 18, John Carter, 36, was sentenced to three years — the maximum prison term possible for involuntary manslaughter — in Butler County for the death of his fiancée Katelyn Markham, who he first reported missing in 2011, according to the Associated Press, WKRC, the Cincinnati Enquirer and several other local outlets.

Carter was originally charged with two counts of murder in March 2023 after his initial arrest, but eventually pleaded guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in June after accepting a plea deal, just weeks before his murder trial was set to begin, the Enquirer reported.

The Enquirer added that Markham's family and friends sat in the front row during the court proceedings, donning butterfly pins in solidarity with the 22-year-old art student. Carter declined to make remarks at the sentencing.

"Not a day goes by that I do not think of Katelyn," her father Dave Markham said during the proceedings, per the newspaper. "I do not feel three years is justice, not for Katelyn; not for her sister; not for me, her friends or the entire community that has ached and grieved alongside us."

Markham, then 22, was last seen on Aug. 13, 2011, at her home in Fairfield, Ohio, the Associated Press reported. She was just weeks away from graduating from the Art Institute of Ohio-Cincinnati and was planning to move Colorado with Carter before her death, according to the outlet.

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Before her death, Carter was the last known person to see Markham alive and called 911 to report her missing after she didn't show up for work, several outlets reported. Several of her belongings, including her keys, purse and wallet were gone from her apartment, but her phone was gone and the GPS location data was turned off.

After a long search — in which Carter was heavily involved — Markham's remains were found in April 2013 at a dump site in Cedar Grove, Ind., around 30 miles west of her home, the outlets reported. Markham's death was ruled a homicide, but the cause of death has never been determined. A forensic anthropology report conducted after her remains were found indicated that they may have been moved from where they were first left, the Enquirer reported.

Related: An Ohio Art Student Mysteriously Vanished 12 Years Ago. Her Fiancé Was Just Charged with Murder

Butler County prosecutors said Carter killed his fiancée by using "physical violence and by force." According to AP, however, Carter has never explained how or why he killed Markham.

According to WKRC, prosecutor Mike Gmoser said he spoke with one person who wrote a witness statement for Carter. That person alleged that Carter only pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter to avoid a harsh sentence and still says he is innocent.

"It's not over and no, it's not closure, but it's a start of something else to come," Dave Markham said, per the Enquirer.

"I still do not know the whole story," he added. "Even if [Carter] writes a confession in prison, he's gonna have to be more convincing than he's been the past 13 years."

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