OPEN SOURCE
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MOUNT VERNON — Knox Pages readers submitted several questions through our Open Source portal over the past few months for the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
The most recent question was, “Why don’t we have law reports any more?”
Capt. Scott McKnight previously forwarded the law reports to media outlets. However, the KCSO released McKnight on July 1 due to budget considerations.
“Unfortunately, the funding just wasn’t there,” Sheriff Daniel Weckesser said.
“When we came into the sheriff’s office, we were under the assumption that the deputy chief’s position and also an administrative sergeant’s position was budgeted for.”
However, he said that was not the case.
“That kind of put us in a spot, so unfortunately we had to let Scott go because of budgetary reasons,” Weckesser said.
The sheriff said he will likely ask Maj. Mark Perkins to assume responsibility for compiling the law reports. Perkins is a part-time deputy for the KCSO.
What’s going on with the suspicious death in Utica?
On July 12, law enforcement was called to 22540 Bell Church Road under suspicious circumstances. Shortly after they arrived, KCSO deputies called in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
The Knox County Coroner’s Office identified the body through forensic dental records as that of Mary Worboy.
Chief Deputy Rich Miller issued a statement on Sept. 16 in response to Knox Pages’ request for an update. The release states:
“Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit are pursuing all investigative leads and examining the possibility of foul play. Additional search warrants are being obtained to support the technical aspects of the investigation. The Major Crimes Unit is currently awaiting the official coroner’s report to determine the cause and manner of death.
“To maintain the integrity of the investigation, no further details are being released at this time. Updates will be provided as new information becomes available.
“The Knox County Sheriff’s Office remains the lead agency in this case. Anyone with information that may assist in the investigation is urged to contact Detective Zach Miller or Detective Ryan Burgess at 740-397-3333.”
What’s going on with Apple Valley law enforcement coverage?
Weckesser said he has talked some with Apple Valley officials about the sheriff’s office covering the area, but he does not have anything solid.
“We still patrol Apple Valley, and we handle calls over there, we just don’t have a contracted deputy that solely focuses on Apple Valley. We have tried to do our best to patrol the lake, especially on holiday weekends, but manpower-wise we were a little short on that,” Weckesser said.
“I believe that in the near future, I’ll probably deal with the [Apple Valley Property Owners Association] board and see if they’re interested in doing it again. But as of the last few months, we haven’t had any discussions about it.”
In 2023, Apple Valley and Howard Township contracted with the Danville Police Department for a dedicated deputy to patrol their areas.
However, Danville gave up the contract because of a lack of manpower.
The sheriff said that in the future, he would like to have an assigned deputy for the area.
“But that’s going to be obviously up to Apple Valley if they want to take that step,” he said.
What’s going on with the Jean Davis case?
On Dec. 20, 2009, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office received a call at 10:54 a.m. that Jean Davis was found unresponsive in the backyard of her residence on Dennis Church Road, Gambier.
Officials determined that Davis had a gunshot wound to the head and was deceased.
Detectives discovered that Davis’ 2002 tan Chevy Avalanche Z 71 truck was missing. Law enforcement found the Avalanche was found in Newark the following day.
Since then, KCSO detectives continued to pursue leads along with investigators from the Ohio BCI.
In March 2024, former sheriff David Shaffer worked with BCI to update the case with the latest forensic DNA analysis.
In November, KCSO detectives requested assistance from Parabon Nanolabs. Shaffer had learned the company assisted the Stark County Sheriff’s Office in a cold case investigation.
“We have not heard anything more from that company, but obviously every lead that we get, our detectives follow up on it and try to link it and try to solve that case,” Weckesser said.
“By no means is it a case that’s been pushed off to the side or nothing’s being done. Every time we get a lead of any kind, we follow up on it and investigate it.”
