Fellman, 55, died of multiple gunshot wounds, and the dismemberment was postmortem, according to Warren County Coroner Dr. Russell Uptegrove.
A grand jury indicted Vaughan for aggravated murder, murder and felonious assault, all with a gun specification, and tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.
Havens pleaded guilty Thursday to tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse for his role in the crime. He will be sentenced at a later date.
Police said Havens reported Vaughan enlisted him to dismember Fellman’s body in an effort to hide the homicide. Havens reported the incident at the police department, according to detectives.
In April, Vaughan was in Warren County Common Judge Robert Peeler’s courtroom for a pretrial hearing where the judge declared her competent for trial after reviewing a court-ordered forensic psychological evaluation. During the hearing, Assistant Warren County Prosecutor Steve Knippen said the case may be resolved, and with the agreement of defense attorneys, another hearing was set for May 4.
Last fall at the time of the indictment, Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said the continued investigation turned up evidence that Vaughan planned to kill Fellman. The indictment states Vaughan shot Fellman “multiple times” at 6:15 p.m. Sept. 19 and had Havens come over the next day to dismember the body.
During the preliminary hearing in September, Middletown Police Detective Brook McDonald testified Fellman was found dead after Havens came to the police station on the night of Sept. 20 and reported there was a body at the Stone Path residence. Police previously said Havens told detectives he dismembered the body.
Vaughan was found about two hours later at a gas station at Dixie Highway and Coles Road. There were several guns in the car with her, McDonald said.
During questioning, Vaughan said she had shot Fellman the night before, according to McDonald.
“(Vaughan said) she and her husband had gotten into an argument the previous night while inside the garage. She said she got frightened and shot him,” McDonald said. “It appeared his body had been moved because (Vaughan) said when he was shot he was by the refrigerator, but when we found him he was in trash bags,” McDonald said during testimony.
The defense pointed to Vaughan acting in self-defense, not murder.
During cross examination, McDonald said Vaughan told them Fellman threw a chair during the argument, then she shot him. She also said he had grabbed her arm.
McDonald said Vaughan also told police Fellman choked her a couple nights before in the parking lot of a local bar.
Staff Writer Lauren Pack contributed to this report.
About the Author