Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued March 22 at 5:43PM EDT until March 23 at 12:00AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 73 IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS
IN INDIANA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 8 COUNTIES
IN EAST CENTRAL INDIANA
FAYETTE UNION WAYNE
IN SOUTHEAST INDIANA
DEARBORN FRANKLIN OHIO RIPLEY SWITZERLAND
IN KENTUCKY THIS WATCH INCLUDES 3 COUNTIES
IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY
BOONE CAMPBELL KENTON
IN OHIO THIS WATCH INCLUDES 32 COUNTIES
IN CENTRAL OHIO
DELAWARE FAIRFIELD FAYETTE FRANKLIN HOCKING LICKING MADISON PICKAWAY UNION
IN SOUTH CENTRAL OHIO
ADAMS HIGHLAND PIKE ROSS SCIOTO
IN SOUTHWEST OHIO
BROWN BUTLER CLERMONT CLINTON HAMILTON WARREN
IN WEST CENTRAL OHIO
AUGLAIZE CHAMPAIGN CLARK DARKE GREENE HARDIN LOGAN MERCER MIAMI MONTGOMERY PREBLE SHELBY
THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF ABERDEEN, ADA, ALEXANDRIA, AURORA, BATESVILLE, BEAVERCREEK, BELLEFONTAINE, BELLEVUE, BLANCHESTER, BRIGHT, BROOKVILLE, BURLINGTON, CAMDEN, CELINA, CHILLICOTHE, CIRCLEVILLE, COLDWATER, CONNERSVILLE, COVINGTON, DAY HEIGHTS, DAYTON, DELAWARE, DILLSBORO, DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, DOWNTOWN COLUMBUS, DOWNTOWN DAYTON, EATON, ERLANGER, FAIRBORN, FAIRFIELD, FLORENCE, FORT THOMAS, FRANKLIN, GEORGETOWN, GREENDALE, GREENFIELD, GREENVILLE, HAMILTON, HIDDEN VALLEY, HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, HILLSBORO, INDEPENDENCE, KENTON, KETTERING, LANCASTER, LANDEN, LAWRENCEBURG, LEBANON, LIBERTY, LOGAN, LONDON, MANCHESTER, MARYSVILLE, MASON, MIDDLETOWN, MILAN, MILFORD, MINSTER, MOUNT CARMEL, MOUNT ORAB, MOUNT REPOSE, MULBERRY, NEW BREMEN, NEWARK, NEWPORT, OAKBROOK, OSGOOD, OXFORD, PEEBLES, PICKERINGTON, PIKE LAKE, PIKETON, PIQUA, PLAIN CITY, PORTSMOUTH, RICHMOND, RIPLEY, RISING SUN, SEAMAN, SIDNEY, SPRINGBORO, SPRINGFIELD, ST. MARYS, SUMMERSIDE, TIPP CITY, TROY, URBANA, VERSAILLES, VEVAY, WAPAKONETA, WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, WAVERLY, WEST COLLEGE CORNER, WEST JEFFERSON, WEST UNION, WHEELERSBURG, WILMINGTON, WINCHESTER, WITHAMSVILLE, AND XENIA.
32° 32° Mon 47° Mon 47° 29° 29° Tue 53° Tue 53°
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Wednesday, June 25th, 2025

Houser sentenced to life for 2023 murder

By Abigail Miller
VAN WERT- A 39-year-old Mercer County man was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court for the 2023 alleged murder of a 43-year-old Van Wert woman.
Ryan E. Houser, Celina, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, contingent on the possibility of parole, on one count of murder, an unclassified felony.
He entered a no contest plea to the sole count in March, and then filed a motion to withdraw his plea at a scheduled sentencing hearing in May.
The motion was denied earlier this month by county common pleas judge Martin D. Burchfield for several noted reasons, based on a nine-point review used by appellate courts to review a trial court's decision on denying or granting a motion to withdraw a plea.
The charges stem from the killing of Barbara Ganger, who was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in her Van Wert apartment in September 2023.
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Houser was indicted in November 2023 by a grand jury on one count of aggravated murder, an unclassified felony; murder, an unclassified felony; tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony; and possessing a weapon under a disability, a third-degree felony.
The remaining charges were dismissed as a part of the March plea agreement.
Officers were called to Ganger's apartment on Sept. 4, 2023, for a welfare check but received no answer after several attempts to contact her at the residence and by phone, according to the release.
Officers made entry into her apartment and found Ganger deceased on the floor. It was later found that she was shot once in the eye and twice in the abdomen.
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Archive of June 25th, 2025
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