P.I.: Police should consider possible connection between Markham, Weik cases

BUTLER COUNTY, OH (FOX19) - A private investigator is pressuring law enforcement to find out if there is a connection between Ellen “Ellie” Weik’s murder case and Katelyn Markham’s homicide case.

Both Butler County women disappeared and were later found dead.

Police have not said if they believe there is a link, but the P.I. believes a new lead could be right in front of them.

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Michael Strouse is currently serving time in prison for Weik’s murder. Meanwhile, Markham’s case remains unsolved.

In the days since Strouse’s conviction, court documents have shown that the convicted killer stalked his victim, Weik, before he took her life.

The documents claim that Strouse sent Weik ‘creepy’ videos, messaged her while pretending to be another person and searched the internet for sexually violent porn, like “forced rape while jogging.”

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Police said that Strouse is now also linked to the 2018 assault and attempted abduction of a jogger in Mason.

It is those details, along with a list of similarities, that lead private investigator and former detective J. Ryan Green to believe that Strouse is worth investigating in Markham’s case.

Markham disappeared in Fairfield in 2011. Her remains were found in 2013.

“I really think this is probably the best lead in the Katelyn Markham case since she went missing," said Green.

Green worked Markham’s case for several years and produced a podcast about his investigation.

Using social media, Green is publicly urging law enforcement officials to dig deeper into Strouse’s past because he believes Weik and Markham’s cases may be connected.

Green said that Strouse knew some of Markham’s friends and is even in a photograph with Markham’s then-fiance.

According to Green, before Markham vanished, she told friends that she was being stalked, and that stalker has never been named.

“One of her friends described that she would be at the store. This individual, unknown individual, would be there," said Green. "She would be home and decide to go on a walk with her dog. All of a sudden, he shows up.”

Court records show that Strouse confessed that he killed Weik and another woman. He allegedly told an inmate that he dumped the woman’s body near a creek.

Markham’s remains were found near a creek in Cedar Grove, Indiana.

“He might not be connected to it, but I can tell you that it sure looks promising," said Green.

Green said that investigators could find out more details about Strouse’s life in 2011 to determine if the link is really there: where was he living, what vehicle he was driving, if he has been questioned about Markham.

“I hope law enforcement is going to be extremely aggressive,” said Green. "They might be. We don’t know, and we aren’t going to be privy to that.”

RELATED | Man who stalked, killed West Chester woman to serve 17 years to life

Fairfield Police, who handled Markham’s case, and West Chester Police, who investigated Weik’s murder, could not be reached for comment.

As of August 2018, neither department has confirmed that there are any connections between Weik and Markham’s cases. The departments have also not revealed whether Strouse is being investigated in Markham’s case.

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