DAYTON — The man accused of killing four people in Butler Twp. in 2022 was in court again on Monday morning.
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Stephen Marlow was in court on Monday for a motion to retain jurisdiction hearing. It comes after the judge in Marlow’s case found that he was not competent to stand trial and would not be restorable by Jan. 17, the 12-month deadline to have him declared competent trial for the killings of Clyde and Eva Knox, and Sarah and Kayla Anderson.
Inside the courtroom, prosecutors asked the judge to keep the case in his court to preserve criminal trial possibilities down the road.
Prosecutors told News Center 7 that for this motion, they have to convince the judge there is clear and compelling evidence that Marlow committed the crimes he’s charged with.
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As shown on News Center 7 at 5:00, a never-before-seen video from inside the Anderson family’s garage was shown in court. It showed Sarah Anderson on the phone when a man, identified by police as Marlow, walks up with a gun in his hand and fires a shot at the 41-year-old mother of two.
Marlow can be seen walking into the home where police said he shot 15-year-old Kayla. He can be seen walking back out through the garage and firing a second shot at Sarah while she was on the ground.
Sarah’s father, Kelly Brockman, addressed the court on Monday. As shown on News Center 7 at 6:00, his frustration towards Marlow not facing a trial was clear during his statement.
“It must be understood that our family has been given a sentence, a life sentence, of traumatic grief that we know will never go away,” Brockman said.
He told the court the hole left behind in the family’s lives due to Sarah and Kayla’s shocking shooting deaths will never be filled.
“Waking up each morning, knowing that we are living with the emptiness of our loved ones no longer here is overwhelming beyond measure,” he said.
Brockman told the judge that what he believes Stephen Marlow did left his family, and the family of Eva and Clyde Knox, stuck in an emotional spiral that never ends. He also said the reality is that there may not be an end to their search for justice since Marlow is not any closer to trial than he was on Aug. 5, 2022.
As previously reported, Marlow claimed the victims, his neighbors, were part of a mind control group out to control his thinking. His lawyers entered not guilty by reason of insanity pleas, which led to several evaluations and, ultimately, the current ruling of incompetence which left the family with a simple request for the judge.
“We ask this, at a minimum, we hope the accused is locked up in a secure facility for the rest of his life, without any chance of parole,” Brockman said.
The judge said he will go through all the exhibits, including an interview with Kansa police and the FBI that Marlow did after being taken into custody in Kansas, and then issue a written decision on the motion to retain jurisdiction.
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