4 killed in Butler Twp.: Details emerge on slaying suspect who may have left Ohio

BULLETIN: The suspect in the killings of four Butler Twp. residents on Friday was captured late Saturday in Lawrence, Kansas, police said. Here is the latest story on his capture.

EARLIER STORY: The person of interest named Friday by police in the slaying of four people in a Butler Twp. neighborhood grew up in the Dayton area.

Stephen A. Marlow, 38, was named a person of interest in the deaths by Butler Twp. police chief John Porter. He’s described as 5-foot-11, 160-pound white male with short brown hair. He was last seen wearing shorts and a yellow T-shirt, and Porter said he was possibly driving a white 2007 Ford Edge SUV with Ohio license plate JES-9806.

He is considered armed and dangerous. In a statement today from the Butler Twp. police, they said Marlow may have fled Ohio.

Porter said police are aware that Marlow released a video on the internet some time after the shooting where he discussed why he shot the four people. He said dozens have been interviewed about Marlow.

“We understand the ideas and languages in the video are startling. And that is why our investigators are working around the clock to ensure Mr. Marlow is brought into custody,” Porter said.

Talking to Marlow directly, Porter said he wanted the suspect to know they were there to help him. “You have the ability to end this peacefully. We want to end this peacefully. Please call 911 and turn yourself in.”

Marlow graduated from Butler High School in 2001 and graduated from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, according to background check obtained by the Dayton Daily News.

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

He lived and worked in Chicago as a trader from 2006 to 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile. He most recently lived with his parents on Haverstraw Avenue, one of the streets where a part of the shooting took place, police said.

Two homes were surrounded by crime scene tape near the intersection of Hardwicke and Haverstraw. One of the homes, in the 7200 block of Hardwicke, shares part of a back fence with his parents homes that was purchased in 1999, according to county property records.

One nearby neighbor who declined to give his name on Saturday said he has lived in the neighborhood for over three decades.

The man said he did not know the alleged shooter but that he’d recently heard there were what seemed to be minor issues with Marlow and other neighbors, including residents on Hardwicke Place.

“He’d holler at them and say, ‘Keep the noise down, you’re too noisy in this neighborhood,’” the man said, noting that he’d didn’t personally witness Marlow yelling, but had heard this from others in the neighborhood. “They said he did that all the time, he’d holler at you if you were outside.”

Marlow was convicted of aggravated burglary and aggravated menacing in February 2020, stemming from a July 2019 incident in Vandalia. He was accused of breaking into a Damian Street home in Vandalia and threatening harm to a person there with a weapon.

He was sentenced to five years of community control but that probation was terminated Feb. 9, according to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court records.

During the first part of his probation, he was ordered to have a mental health evaluation and was under intense supervision until December 2020, according to court records.

The FBI said Friday that Marlow had connections with Chicago, Lexington and Indianapolis. They asked people to call 937-233-2080, 1-800-Call-FBI or http://tips.fbi.gov with info about Marlow.

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