2 men charged in connection to dead mother of 9 not released, after all

In a late-night twist, the two men allegedly connected to the overdose death to a Middletown mother of nine were not released from the Middletown City Jail on Wednesday as ruled earlier in the day.

Middletown Municipal Court Judge James Sherron gave Jim Boyer, 63, and his son, Keith Boyer, 32, an OR bond on Wednesday afternoon and told them to report to Hope House, a downtown homeless shelter. As a condition of their release, they were told they must pass periodical drug tests and stay in contact with Middletown police until their next hearing, Sherron said.

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But when some of the “conditions” couldn’t be met, they were not released, court officials said this morning.

Instead, Jim Boyer’s preliminary hearing was held Wednesday night, and his case was bound over to the Butler County Grand Jury. His bond remained at $125,000, and he was taken to Butler County Jail.

The case involving Keith Boyer was continued until Jan. 17. His bond remained at $130,000, and he’s in the Butler County Jail.

The two homeless men allegedly were in a house in the 1400 block of Yankee Road on Dec. 13 when Jemita Sanders, 31, died in her kitchen.

The Boyers were charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, theft and nine counts of child endangering.

Police believe Sanders may have overdosed and that the Boyers left her to die in her kitchen. She was found by one of her nine children, who called 911.

The girl, who said she was 11 years old, told a Middletown dispatcher: “My mom not waking up” when she called 911.

When the young caller said she didn’t know her home address, the dispatcher asked the girl to find the address on a piece of mail, according to the 911 call reviewed by this news outlet.

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Eventually, another child in the home knew the address, and it was relayed to the 911 dispatcher.

When the girl was asked if her mother was breathing, she quietly says, “I don’t know.”

She was instructed to put her head on her mother’s chest.

“Mom. Mom. Mom,” someone is heard screaming in the background.

The dispatcher asked about other children in the room, and the caller was told to move all the children younger than her into another room.

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