CINCINNATI — Colleagues and family remembered Kaitlyn Lynch, a Westwood woman kidnapped from her home and found dead in Tennessee, as a devoted mother as the man accused of killing her awaited extradition back to Ohio.
Lynch had two young girls and anyone who knew her well knew they were the lights of her life.
"She was a very kind and generous person," said downtown attorney Jim Hartke. "She lived for her children."
Hartke said she would sometimes bring the girls around his law office, where she worked.
"That's kind of just who she was," Hartke said. "We just enjoyed the heck out of her around here."
Another staffer called her "spunky ... a pistol" and noted that even nearly one week later, her death didn't feel real.
John Reuthers, Lynch's brother, said his family — and those young girls — still needed prayers. He said Lynch always put her family first.
Lynch was found dead on Saturday inside her own vehicle in Tennessee after she was taken outside her home, according to Hamilton County court documents.
On Aug. 18 around 11:50 p.m., Cincinnati police responded to the 2800 block of Temple Avenue for a report of shots fired. When they arrived, they found evidence of a shooting and a possible kidnapping, CPD said in a press release.
Lance Miller, of Abbott, Texas, is awaiting extradition from Tennessee to Ohio for murder and kidnapping charges. He led different law enforcement agencies on a multi-county chase early Saturday morning that ended in Cheatham County, Tenn., according to WCPO's sister station in Nashville. He faces evading arrest and abuse of a corpse charges in that state.
Miller had stayed briefly with Lynch, according to Hartke. He said he met Miller and didn't feel any misgivings about him, but others in the office had been put off by him. Hartke had shared some bourbon with Lynch and Miller on Friday evening.
"I don't have anything to say to him, we'll have to let the justice system run its course," he said. "But I certainly hope he gets convicted of kidnapping, abuse of a corpse and murder — and receives the maximum sentence."
Before he was sharing bourbon with Hartke last week, Miller was allegedly on another police chase in a different state.
KWTV in Oklahoma City was over a speed-limit chase through that town on July 31. Authorities said Miller was in a truck stolen from Texas and the chase ended when police performed a pit maneuver and pulled Miller from the driver's seat, as he spilled a beer onto the road.
Lynch's friends and coworkers are now trying to step up to support the family she held so dear.
"I would think that it would be a reflection of how she interacted with people," said Hartke.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to get Lynch's body back to her family in New York and help set up education funds for her daughters.
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