The third suspect in a Pike County murder case that saw the other two suspects arrested Friday in Highland County is now in custody, Highland County Sheriff Donnie Barrera said Tuesday.
Barrera said Dalton James Boyd, 28, turned himself in Monday night at the Pike County Sheriff’s Office.
Boyd was being held on charges of murder, failure to appear, a probation violation, possession of drug abuse instruments and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to online records for the Pike County Sheriff’s Office.
The other two suspects — Aaron Dale Cox, 23, and Ashley Lynn Landrum, 31 — were taken into custody Friday at a residence at 7777 Overman Road in Highland County, where they had been hiding, according to Barrera.
On Aug. 21 at 9:20 a.m. the Pike County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a residence at 2206 Muddy Fork Rd. in Cynthiana. The caller stated that a male, later identified as Christopher Martin, 65, had been shot but was still alive, according to a news release from the Pike County Sheriff’s Office.
When deputies arrived on the scene they found Martin in the front yard of the residence suffering from a gunshot wound, according to various news sources.
However, Martin was pronounced dead at the scene after the arrival of the Pike County coroner.
After implementing an extensive investigation, Pike County investigators said they determined that Cox, Landrum and Boyd had committed the murder. Interviews, along with text messages, helped investigators determine that all three suspects were part of crimes leading to Martin’s death, the Pike County Sheriff’s Office said.
On Friday, Aug. 28, information was obtained leading officers to believe two of the three suspects were in Highland County, and the Pike County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Highland County Sheriff’s Office.
Highland County detectives and several road units assisted in going to locations on Overman Road, located off of U.S. Route 50 east of Hillsboro. Cox and Landrum were located after a search warrant was served at 7777 Overman Road, where numerous amounts of drugs and a gun were located and seized as evidence, according to the news release.
Cox and Landrum were taken into custody without incident, the news release said.
Cox appeared Monday in Pike County Common Pleas Court where his bond was set at $1 million.
Landrum was being held on unrelated charges in Ross County, although a warrant was issued for her on a charge of murder by the Pike County Sheriff’s Office.
Anyone with information related to the incident is urged to call the Pike County Sheriff’s Office at 740-947-2111 or Highland County Sheriff’s Office at 937-393-1421.
The Greenfield Police Department and Highland County Sheriff’s Office are assisting in the investigation.
Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522.
