Man killed victim, stuffed him into toolbox, left in woods: Cops
A 29-year-old man in Ohio has been indicted for allegedly luring a 61-year-old man to his home where he tied the victim up and beat him to death before stuffing the body in a toolbox and discarding it in the woods late last year. A grand jury in Montgomery County last month returned a true bill indicting Nicholas Ray Swisher on one count each of murder, felonious assault, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and gross abuse of a corpse in the death of John L. Mullins, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a copy of the indictment obtained by Law&Crime, Swisher is accused of killing Mullins sometime between Sept. 22, 2022, and Sept. 29, 2022, inside of his home located on Lensdale Avenue in Trotwood, Ohio, which is about 55 miles north of Cincinnati.
Court records indicate that Swisher has pleaded not guilty to all of the aforementioned charges.
Mullins’ body was recovered on Sept. 29, 2022, in an area of woods located in the 6500 block of Midway Avenue, which is about a mile from Swisher’s home, the Dayton Daily News reported.
“Nicholas Swisher did lure John Mullins to the address. While there, Nicholas Swisher hit, kicked and stomped Mullins. He then bound him with rope and duct tape before causing his death by beating,” a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Dayton Daily News states. “Nicholas then wrapped Mullins’ body, put him in a toolbox and disposed of him in the woods.”
Detectives investigating the crime reportedly told Dayton CBS affiliate WHIO that they immediately noticed “suspicious circumstances” regarding Mullins’ death. They were later able to obtain physical evidence that linked Swisher to the murder, per the report.
The grand jury formally charged Swisher with Mullins’ murder on Dec. 12, 2023. That same day, Swisher was arrested in connection with an unrelated robbery.
Per WHIO, officers with the Trotwood Police Department at about 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 12 responded to reports of a U-Haul pickup truck being stolen from an area located in the 6900 block of West Third Street. Later that day, the U-Haul was spotted driving in the area and a chase ensued that ended when the U-Haul got into a head-on collision with an SUV near Hoover Avenue and Scottswood Road. Police said the driver, later identified as Swisher, attempted to flee from the scene of the accident on foot but was quickly apprehended.
“Luckily, the incident we were looking for him on Tuesday for was unrelated to that incident last year,” Trotwood Police Chief Erik Wilson told WHIO. “And so this was the one time, you know, the gods were smiling on us and we were able to come in contact with him looking for something else. And then once we had him custody, we had the paperwork in hand.”
“The timing was impeccable,” Wilson added.
Swisher is facing separate charges of vehicular assault, failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, and receiving stolen property over the Dec. 12 incident, records show. He is currently being held on $1 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court again for his status hearing on Jan. 10.
Swisher is being represented in the matter by the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office. The office did not immediately return Law&Crime’s request for comment on the case.
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