FAIRFIELD, Ohio — A young tree has grown in Creekside Park in Fairfield, Ohio surrounded by butterfly ornaments, flowers, and a placard reading "resting in the arms of the Father" for several years.
The tree was planted by David Markham in his daughter Katelyn's honor years after her unexplained disappearance and death.
Saturday, Katelyn's friends and family gathered around that tree to celebrate her life and call for justice for whoever may have been responsible.
In a sudden development in the cold case, Butler County prosecutors charged Katelyn's former fiance John Carter with two counts of felony murder in connection with her death more than a decade earlier.
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Markham disappeared in 2011, and her body wasn't found until two years later in 2013.
"This is a much better feeling emotionally than it was the other times," David said at Saturday's rally.
David has never stopped trying to solve his daughter's case, and celebrated her life at the rally surrounded by her favorite colors, purple and yellow, and a creature very close to her heart.
"Katelyn always liked butterflies," he said, "and it's a very personal connection to me. When she first went missing, I'd have bad days and butterflies would fly around and I'd talk to her."
Carter's arrest came as a shock to many, as he'd helped in searches for Katelyn's body in the months and years following her disappearance, and did multiple interviews with WCPO.
"I'm terrified," Carter said in a 2011 interview. "I'm absolutely terrified. I just want to find Katelyn and celebrate her birthday and go to Red Lobster like she was planning."
Others who'd helped in those searched or followed the case said during Saturday's rally that they'd worried the cold case would stay frozen forever.
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Then prosecutors moved against Carter.
"That let us know that Katelyn was not being forgotten," said family friend Tina Barrett. "That someone is actively seeking justice on her behalf, and we have been praying for that for her for 11 and a half years."
Surrounded by butterfly ornaments, David said he's waited for justice long enough, but he's still willing to wait a little longer.
In the meantime, he said he'd still talk with Katelyn.
"I love you baby," he said. "She knows. She's been with me all along, and I've been with her."
Carter's Defense Attorney, Chris Pagan, refused comment when asked for a response to David's "Justice for Katelyn" rally.
He said he would allow the process to play out in court.
Carter has plead 'not guilty' to the charges against him.
Carter's trial is set to begin in Butler County in Justice Court June 24, 2024.
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