Katelyn Markham death investigators in contact with West Chester police after man’s arrest

The arrest of a Liberty Twp. man and his past has prompted speculation about the unsolved homicide of a Fairfield woman.

Police say Michael Strouse is responsible for the death of 23-year-old Ellen Weik at his Liberty Twp. home. Strouse was charged with murder Saturday after a body, believed to be Weik, was found late Friday afternoon in a field on Millikin Road.

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Weik went missing from her West Chester Twp. house on July 29.

Today, law enforcement officials involved in the ongoing investigation of the 2011 disappearance and subsequent death of Fairfield’s Katelyn Markham said they have been in contact with West Chester Police.

Photos surfaced on social media over the weekend of Markham with Strouse and other people.

Police and volunteers looked for months to find the young woman who vanished during the early morning hours of Aug. 14, 2011, from her Dorshire Drive residence in Fairfield, leaving behind her purse, keys and her dog.

The case gained national attention as days turned into months with no news of Markham’s whereabouts.

Then on April 7, 2013, skeletal remains were found in a remote wooded area in Cedar Grove, Ind. Within days, confirmation came that the remains were Markham’s, and the Franklin County Coroner ruled her death a homicide. However, the exact cause of death could not be determined.

Strouse was an acquaintance of Markham, a 22-year-old art student, Indiana State Police Detective Vance Patton told the Journal-News today.

He said he is aware of Strouse’s arrest but declined to comment further.

Because Markham’s remains were found in Indiana, the case remains in that state’s jurisdiction.

Locally, Fairfield police detectives were at the West Chester Police Department today, Fairfield Officer Doug Day told the Journal-News.

“I can confirm that we have been in contact with them about the case,” Day said. He declined to comment further.

A reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Markham’s killer has grown to $100,000 over the years, but despite investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies, her case remains unsolved.

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