Man indicted on charges after remains of missing woman found behind home

Gilbert Todd Revere, 57, was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury on two counts of tampering with evidence, one count of gross abuse of a corpse, and one count of failure to report knowledge of a death, officials said in a release Wednesday afternoon.

The remains of Michelle Burgan, 47, missing from Middletown, were discovered behind Revere’s home on Hemple Road last week, according to investigators.

Revere remains booked in the Montgomery County Jail.

EARLIER REPORT (Sept. 10):

A 57-year-old Moraine man was arraigned in court Monday after human remains were discovered behind his Hemple Road home last week in connection to a missing Middletown woman.

Gilbert T. Revere is charged with two counts of tampering with evidence and single counts of gross abuse of a corpse and failure to report a death, records show.

“Revere admitted to failing to report a death, moving the deceased to avoid detection and covering the body in a tent,” a court affidavit written by Moraine police read.  “He also admitted to hiding the clothes and personal items of the deceased in the basement of the residence to avoid discovery.”

The charges filed in Kettering Municipal Court are dated back to May 16, 2017, the day Michelle Burgan, 47, was reported missing in Middletown.

Revere’s bond was set at $250,000 and a not guilty plea was entered, court records show.

She was last known to be at the Hope House homeless shelter in Middletown, and may have been spotted in Dayton, police said.

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Investigators arrived at the Hemple Road property Thursday night after Moraine police received a call from Middletown detectives.

More than a half dozen investigators from Moraine police, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Tactical Crime Suppression Unit assisted in the investigation resulting in human remains being recovered from behind Revere’s home.

“We located human remains at the back of the property in the wood line area,” which Jason Neubauer, Deputy Chief of the Moraine Police Department, said was only 15 to 20 feet inside the wooded area behind the house.

Investigators have not said whether the remains are those of Burgan and the identification of the remains cannot be determined until tests are conducted, Neubauer said.