BLANCHESTER - The 2004 search for Carrie Culberson's body has led to a civil suit filed in Cincinnati Federal Court naming Brown County Sheriff Dwayne Wenninger and Clermont County Sheriff, A.J. "Tim" Rodenberg Jr. as defendants.
Jeanette Spangler, owner of the property on Fayetteville-Blanchester Road, and her son Jerrod Messer, are seeking compensatory damages exceeding $1 million, punitive damages exceeding $1 million and equitable relief including, but not limited to, an apology from the law enforcement agencies that conducted the search on the property two years ago.
"Defendant Dwayne Wenninger is being sued in his official capacity as Brown County Sheriff for all acts complained of herein, as well as individually for acts of retaliation and discrimination," it said in the suit.
According to the lawsuit filed, law enforcement agencies who conducted the search of the Spangler property exceeded the scope of the search warrant by digging in an area much larger than what the warrant allowed.
"This search was executed with recklessness and malice," it said in the suit.
The suit claimed that the search led to the destruction of personal property and real property which constituted an illegal seizure of that property, resulting in damages of more than $75,000.
The executed search for Culberson's body also caused damage to cedar fencing on the property, damage to a metal storage shed, as well as other damage from deposits and debris left behind by law enforcement agencies that conducted the search.
The suit claimed that 11 vehicles were destroyed during the search when the defendants named in the lawsuit moved the vehicles outside of the garage being searched and buried them in other debris removed from the garage.
"The damages further included loss of numerous expensive tools which were also buried in the debris and/or stolen as a result of the conditions that defendants (Wenninger and Rodenberg) left the property in when they completed their search," it said in the lawsuit.
When removing items from a garage that was searched, law enforcement agencies allegedly left the items in an unsecured location that was not safe from vandals and left the land in uninhabitable condition.
Spangler claimed she was unable to rent the property until the various damages were repaired, resulting in a loss of rental income.
Wenninger and Rodenberg's actions in executing the search warrant displayed "extreme and outrageous conduct" that "intentionally or recklessly caused the plaintiffs severe emotional distress."
The Ohio Fair Plan Underwriting Association is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit for not yet providing compensation to the plaintiffs in a timely manner.
Clinton County Sheriff Ralph Fiser Jr., recalled receiving notice by the Brown County Sheriff's Department in 2004, alerting his office that a search warrant had been obtained for the Spangler property and a dig would be conducted.
The Clinton County Sheriff's Department had no involvement in the search, other than sending an investigator to monitor progress and help secure the area.
The warrant to search the property was obtained through the testimony of a confidential informant who claimed they knew the whereabouts of Culberson's body. However, Fiser claimed he told the Brown County Sheriff's Department that he had dealt with the confidential informant in the past and found them to be unreliable.
"We (Clinton County Sheriff's Office) told them he was probably lying," said Fiser.
According to Fiser, items obtained through the search were taken to a crime lab, but none of the items were proven to belong to Culberson.
Rodenberg was awestruck as to why he was named in the lawsuit received on Aug. 17, claiming that his involvement in the search for Culberson was very limited.
"The Clermont County Sheriff's Office had no role in the digging (on Spangler's property)," said Rodenberg. "We didn't have much involvement at all."
Rodenberg said his office only provided security, mainly during the evening hours, to make sure the property was not disturbed while the investigation was underway.
Assisting in the dig, but not yet named in the suit, was the FBI's Cincinnati office.
"I'm confident, as things progress, that our office will be resolved from the suit," said Rodenberg.
Sheriff Wenninger could not be reached by telephone when his office was contacted on Monday and Tuesday, and despite messages left on his voice mail and with his office staff, he did not return calls.
Although Culberson's body has not been located, her former boyfriend Vincent Doan, is serving a life sentence for the kidnapping and murder of the missing Blanchester woman.
