No cause of death in Middletown body dump

BY DUNCAN STEWART

Miami University journalism student

A Middletown couple, fearing they would be evicted from their home, remain jailed on charges they tried to hide the body of woman who overdosed at the home, authorities said.

Erica Robinson, 32, and Joshua Swenson, 28, were charged last month with tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, permitting drug abuse, and obstructing official business, according to the Butler County court records.

The body of Leslie Dalton was found dumped in woods behind Robinson’s residence on Wilbraham Road on August 13, said Middletown Police Lt. Scott Reeve.

Reeve says the case is not unique.

“We have had a few cases of people trying to move the bodies or hide the bodies after an overdose. That becomes very problematic to investigate,” he said.

“If they just left the body alone and let us do our investigation, nobody would have gotten in trouble.”

The Butler County Coroner has not yet determined an official cause of death for Dalton.

“The coroner has to get with the forensic pathologists,” said Norma Sechrist, office secretary at the Coroner’s office. “It could be a couple more weeks.”

Swenson and Robinson remain jailed in lieu of $75,000 bail each.

The Butler County jail. -- Photo by Duncan Stewart