Mt. Sterling Murder Suspect Back in Jail

By Benjamin Cox on April 14, 2021 at 11:25am

A man awaiting trial for a 2019 murder in Mt. Sterling is currently back in jail. 40 year old John M. Dean was arrested by Brown County Sheriff’s Deputies Monday night for an undisclosed reason surrounding his ongoing murder trial. According to court documents, due to a previous agreement with former Brown County States Attorney Mark Vincent and Dean’s attorney John Leonard, all filings in the case are impounded from public viewing.

Dean plead not guilty to one charge of first degree murder in the death of 44 year old Rebeccaa Niewohner in February of last year. Since then, the trial has gone through a series of delays due to COVID-19, attorney availability, and motions for additional disclosures to the defense in the case. Current Brown County States Attorney Michael Hill told KHQA today that no new evidence has been brought forth in the case and that Dean is due in court on Friday.

Dean has been confined to his home with an ankle monitor after posting 10% of the $25,000 bail on July 8th of last year. Authorities have not released details about the reasons behind the shooting. In charging documents, Dean is alleged to have shot Niewohner with a .45 caliber handgun at a home in the 400 block of East Chestnut in Mt. Sterling on the night of June 14th, 2019. First responders found Niewohner dead and Dean injured with a gunshot wound to the face and immediately transported him to Culbertson Memorial Hospital in Rushville. Medical officials then rushed him for treatment to a Springfield area hospital where he remained until August. Since October 2019, the trial has gone through a series of delays, most of them due to COVID-19.

Brown County Circuit Court has set Dean’s bond at $1,000,000 with 10% to apply. He remains lodged at the Schuyler County Jail with his hearing called by Attorney Leonard set for Friday.