An Ohio man has been accused of shooting and killing a mother of two. The victim, identified as Kaitlyn Lynch, had reportedly allowed the suspect, Lance Miller, to stay in her basement. The motive behind the attack remains unknown. The Cincinnati Police Department has charged Miller with murder and kidnapping in connection with Lynch’s death.
Cincinnati police responded to a report of shots fired and discovered that Lynch had likely been taken against her will by the same person who had stolen her car. This led to a cross-state investigation and manhunt involving law enforcement from Kentucky and Tennessee. After a chase through multiple counties in Tennessee, officers from the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office apprehended Miller, who was driving Lynch’s car. Tragically, they found Lynch’s lifeless body in the front seat of the vehicle.
According to Lynch’s employer, attorney James Hartke, she had willingly allowed Miller to live in her basement after he had fallen on hard times. Lynch herself had faced difficulties, having recently lost her husband unexpectedly earlier this year. Initially a client of Hartke’s firm, Lynch was later hired as a secretary in April. Miller was a friend of Lynch’s late husband and had arrived in Cincinnati from Texas via Oklahoma just six days before the murder.
On the day of the fatal shooting, Lynch, Miller, and other employees at the law firm had drinks together. Hartke stated that nothing seemed out of the ordinary at the time, but in hindsight, some office staff had noticed that Miller had made others uncomfortable. There were even suggestions that he may have had unrequited romantic feelings for Lynch. Hartke recounted that Lynch had been on the phone with a friend, mentioning that Miller had a gun before the call abruptly ended.
A GoFundMe page created by Lynch’s family provides additional details about her final moments in a heartbreaking account. She was shot and killed inside her car, which was parked outside her Ohio home. The suspect, someone she knew, then took the driver’s seat, leaving Lynch to die in the passenger seat as he drove away. The fundraiser aims to bring Lynch’s remains to her family in New York and cover the costs of a memorial service. Any remaining funds will be used to support her two young daughters.
The suspect is currently in custody in Tennessee and is awaiting extradition to Ohio to face the charges against him.