Athens County family indicted on murder charges

Meigs County Prosecuting Attorney James K. Stanley announces that on July 1, a grand jury indicted Sarah Haning, Randy Haning and Beverly Haning for numerous offenses related to the death of a man, including murder, arson, gross abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and obstructing justice.

The victim was last seen on the night of Dec. 11, 2025. The following morning, he was discovered inside his burnt truck along Hemlock Grove Road in Bedford Township.

Following an extensive investigation, this matter was presented to the grand jury, which returned the following indictments:

• Sarah Haning, 24, of Athens, was indicted for a total of 49 counts, including 44 counts of obstructing justice for communicating false information to law enforcement officers with purpose to hinder the discovery, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for crime or to assist another to benefit from the commission of a crime; one count of obstructing justice for destroying or concealing physical evidence of the crime or act; one count of tampering with evidence for destroying evidence with purpose to impair its value or availability; one count of arson, one count of gross abuse of a corpse and one count of murder.

Randy Haning, 65, of Athens, was indicted for a total of 11 counts, including six counts of obstructing justice for communicating false information to law enforcement officers with purpose to hinder the discovery, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for crime or to assist another to benefit from the commission of a crime; one count of obstructing justice for destroying or concealing physical evidence of the crime or act; one count of tampering with evidence for destroying evidence with purpose to impair its value or availability; one count of arson, one count of gross abuse of a corpse, and one count of murder.

Beverly Haning, 63, of Athens, was indicted for a total of nine counts, including four counts of obstructing justice for communicating false information to law enforcement officers with purpose to hinder the discovery, apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment of another for crime or to assist another to benefit from the commission of a crime; one count of obstructing justice for destroying or concealing physical evidence of the crime or act; one count of tampering with evidence for destroying evidence with purpose to impair its value or availability; one count of arson, one count of gross abuse of a corpse and one count of murder.

These cases will proceed in the Meigs County Court of Common Pleas before Judge Linda R. Warner.
The Meigs County Sheriff’s Office and Major Crimes Unit investigated this matter with assistance from Ohio BCI, Ohio Department of Public Safety, Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Meigs County Coroner’s Office, the Gallia County Coroner’s Office, and the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. Many members of the public also contributed to the investigation.

An indictment is merely a charge and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty