HAMILTON, Ohio — John Carter pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with his fiancée Katelyn Markham's 2011 death.
Carter appeared in Butler County courtroom to enter the plea Friday at 9 a.m. ahead of his scheduled June 24 murder trial.
Originally, prosecutors were pursuing two murder charges for Carter. One charge said he "purposefully" caused the death of Markham, while the other charge said he caused her death as the "proximate result" of committing a felony of violence.
Carter's attorneys told WCPO 9 that by him pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, he's admitting to accidentally causing Markham's death while he was committing a misdemeanor assault and she died. The attorneys did not specify the type of misdemeanor assault.
Carter could serve up to 36 months in prison.
“I have so much to say,” Dave Markham, Katelyn's father, told our partners at the Journal-News. “Hardly feels like justice of Katelyn. But I understand and support the Butler County prosecutors.”
A grand jury originally indicted Carter in March 2023 following a months-long review by investigators from the county prosecutor’s office.
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He has been free since his arraignment in April 2023 after posting a $1 million bond shortly after the indictment.
Markham was days away from her 22nd birthday when she vanished in August 2011 from her Fairfield townhouse. Her skeletal remains were found on April 7, 2013, in a remote wooded area in Indiana about 30 miles from her home.
Her death was ruled a homicide, but the cause of death has not been determined.
RELATED | Autopsy: Katelyn Markham's body was likely held somewhere before being dumped in Indiana
While she was missing, Carter assisted police and volunteers with searches for years. He told WCPO 9 in an August 2011 interview that he was "absolutely terrified."
He also said at the time he was hopeful Markham could "fight her way out" if she was somewhere "because she's strong."
When he spoke to WCPO 9 that same month about being interviewed by police, Carter said he wasn't worried.
"I know that I'm more than cooperative and I will always be cooperative until we get Katelyn back," Carter said.
Carter is set to be back in court on July 18 to be sentenced for Markham's death.
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