This charge carries a maximum prison sentence of three years and a possible $10,000 fine. Post-release control is optional, according to court records.
The state agreed to dismiss charges of aggravated possession of drugs, a third-degree felony, and failure to report knowledge of death and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors.
Two other men are codefendants in the case involving the death of Brittany Fuhr-Storms, 28, who was left in a Middletown house for days before her body was found Aug. 3, 2025 in Jackson Twp., according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
Walter Edward Wade, 44, and Ricky J. Sheppard, 47, are each facing a felony count of tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.
Wade’s jury trial is set for March 9, and Sheppard’s is set for March 16.
Wade was indicted in December following the arrests of Rothenbusch and Sheppard in August.
Nathan Isaacs, Fuhr-Storms’ older brother, asked Judge Keith Spaeth at Wade’s December court date to consider a high bond because he thinks Wade is a danger to the community.
“I couldn’t imagine this happening to another family,” Isaacs said.
Spaeth set Wade’s bond at $45,000 cash or surety.
Isaacs also asked Spaeth during a hearing in October not to lower bond for Rothenbusch.
Spaeth ruled not to reduce Rothenbusch’s bail or grant an OR bond, also citing Rothenbusch’s criminal history in Butler County going back to 1993.
A reduction in Sheppard’s $40,000 bond was not requested by his attorney.
All three men remain in Butler County Jail.
“With these guys, what they’re being charged for, I think it should be so much more,” Isaacs told Journal-News following the hearing in October 2025. “But I know the law’s got to go with evidence they have.”
Rothenbusch and Sheppard reportedly left Fuhr-Storms’ body in the shower for days at Rothenbusch’s residence on Logan Avenue in Middletown before putting her in a plastic tote and leaving her along a road in Jackson Twp.
During an interview, Rothenbusch admitted to drug trafficking and said Fuhr-Storms died at his home under suspicious circumstances, according to the sheriff’s office.
Both Rothenbusch and Sheppard were reportedly aware Fuhr-Storms was pregnant.
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