BATAVIA, Ohio (Court TV/Scripps News Cincinnati) — An Ohio man has been found guilty of all charges related to the cold case disappearance of Paige Johnson.
Jacob Bumpass is charged in connection to Paige Johnson’s death. (Clermont Co. Sheriff/Covington Police Dept.)
A jury found Jacob Bumpass, 35, guilty of abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Bumpass faces up to four years in prison at his sentencing scheduled for September 7.
Prosecutors argued Bumpass was the last person to see 17-year-old Johnson alive, when she went missing in September 2010 after attending a party.
Her remains were found 10 years later by a hiker. Assistant Prosecutor Zachary Zipperer said in his opening statement that only Johnson’s skull – which was missing the jaw – was found alongside two other bones.
Bumpass was not charged with murder in Johnson’s death. That’s because prosecutors didn’t have enough evidence to file homicide charges, in part because coroners were unable to determine a cause of death. Prosecutors are pointing to cellphone records to tie Bumpass to the scene where Johnson’s remains were discovered.
Attorneys for Bumpass maintained their client’s original story, doubling down on the claim that he dropped Johnson off the night she went missing.
DAILY TRIAL UPDATES
DAY 5 – 7/24/23
- A jury finds Jacob Bumpass guilty of all charges:
- Count 1: Tampering with Evidence GUILTY
- Count 2: Abuse of a Corpse GUILTY
- WATCH: OH v. Jacob Bumpass – Teen Mystery Death Trial: Verdict
- Sentencing scheduled for September 7
DAY 4 – 7/21/23
- The jury hears closing arguments
- The jury deliberated for 8 hours before retiring for the weekend. They will return to resume deliberations on Monday.
DAY 3 – 7/20/23
- State rested. Judge informed defendant of right to testify.
- Most of the day’s testimony focused on discovery of remains in a wooded area of Clermont County, Ohio, about 30 minutes west of where the defendant and victim lived in KY.
- Paige Johnson’s dental records were used to identify a skull and jawbone as hers. A human rib was found but not positively matched to her. Lots of unidentified teeth also found.
- Retired FBI agent Kevin Horan testified as an expert in call data analysis and undermined the defendant’s claims:
- Cell tower data suggests Bumpass never dropped off Paige Johnson in the area where he claims he last saw her alive
- Instead, it places him at his house until it shows him traveling west from to Clermont County, Ohio, where it ultimately places him near a tower close to where Paige’s body was found.
- WATCH: Teen Mystery Death Trial: Analyst Testifies to Cell Phone Data
- Lifelong Williamsburg Township resident Jason Kendle found the skull that was later identified as Paige’s on 3/22/20 while searching for deer antlers to make crafts from.
- The defense homed in on Kendle’s testimony that he had never come across the skull before in all his time combing the area, but he had never been in that precise location before.
- EquuSearch Midwest Director David Rader testified that they searched as far as the entrance to East Fork Park based on a ping off the defendant’s phone on a tower within two miles of the park, but never went further because they had no intel or guidance from law enforcement to do so.
- WATCH: Teen Mystery Death Trial: Day 3
- READ MORE: Detective: Jacob Bumpass’ phone pinged where remains were found
DAY 2 – 7/19/23
- Law enforcement officers testified about the search for Paige and how Bumpass emerged early as a suspect.
- Retired Sgt. Bryan Frodge read texts between the defendant and victim from the night she’s believed to have been killed about their plans to meet up.
- Frodge became emotional describing how he considered tips from psychics in his efforts to find Paige.
- Frodge testified that officers used cell tower data to place Bumpass near East Fork Lake campground in Batavia, Ohio, between 3:30 and 4 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2010, raising suspicions about why he was there.
- Tawney Sanford, who was friends with Bumpass in 2010, testified that the day after Paige disappeared, Bumpass expressed concern that it would “look bad” for him if Paige didn’t turn up because he was the last person seen with her.
- Sanford was at Bumpass’ home when Paige’s family came by looking for information about her. Sanford thought Bumpass’ behavior was unusual when he refused to speak to them.
- Paige Johnson’s boyfriend, Ronnie Rider, testified that he last spoke on the phone with her the night of Sept. 22, 2010. She told him that she was staying home for the night because she wasn’t feeling well.
- Rider testified that he and Paige were engaged, trying to get clean and save money so they could move in together. He testified that he believed Paige may still have been doing drugs.
- READ MORE: Former detective says they ‘were desperate’ in search for Paige Johnson
DAY 1 – 7/18/23
- The jury hears opening statements
- Donna Johnson, mother of Paige Johnson, takes the stand
- READ MORE: Paige Johnson’s mother testifies in trial of Jacob Bumpass
