Podcaster puts profits above victims' pain
Mother of woman who died under suspicious circumstances wants Ashli Ford to shut up
NEW LONDON — A podcaster convicted of threatening four city officials last year isn’t just doubling down; she’s monetizing the misery of a grieving mother.
In her latest digital broadcast, Ashli Ford portrays herself as an “advocate” for Katelynn Shepard, a 21-year-old corrections officer who died in a fiery, unexplained crash. But for Tricia Shepard, Katelynn’s mother, this isn’t advocacy. It’s a secondary trauma being broadcast to 17 Facebook groups and locked behind a Patreon paywall.
Driverless death
The facts of Katelynn’s death are as haunting as they are ignored. In the early morning hours of July 9, 2018, her pickup veered off Townline Road 187 into a ravine and burst into flames. When the smoke cleared, Katelynn’s remains weren’t behind the wheel—they were in the passenger seat. There were no witnesses and the burnt-out pickup was not found for about 12 hours—at 4 p.m. later that day.
There was no evidence of a driver. There was no explanation for the fire. And for nearly eight years, there has been no word from Huron County Sheriff Todd Corbin, or anyone else from the sheriff’s office.
Just weeks after Katelynn was killed, Corbin did promise that “no stone would go unturned.” Today, however, those stones are overgrown with the weeds of neglect. Corbin hasn’t lifted a finger, hasn’t offered a courtesy call, and hasn’t provided a single status update to a mother who believes her daughter was a victim of foul play.
How he does it
Corbin is treating Tricia the same “bizarre” way he treated the mother of another crime victim, Amanda Dean. Tricia Shepard is becoming the “new Caroline Tokar.” Tricia’s daughter’s case — and the Amanda Dean case — show the sheriff and his deputies go silent when the questions get hard. It’s a department that allows victims to be harassed in the town square while deputies “make a note of it.”
When Tricia called the deputy she talked with earlier this month to report that Ford was targeting her deceased daughter after Tricia filed a formal complaint with the HCSO, the response was a clinical shrug: “I’ll make a note about it.”
Probation or promotion?
While the Sheriff’s Office “notes” the alleged harassment, Ashli Ford is building a business model out of it. Currently on probation, Ford uses social media to threaten and intimidate. The purpose of probation is rehabilitation and the reduction of recidivism. Yet, Ford is currently:
Ignoring Cease and Desist orders from attorneys.
Promoting a Patreon page where users must pay to hear her “evidence.”
Withholding “confessions” she claims to have, using them as clickbait rather than turning them over to the Ohio BCI.
In her probation orders, Ford is instructed to get a job; specifically, she is to “maintain verifiable employment that is full time, minimum of 30 hours.” It’s not clear if her paid subscription service model promoting the same behavior that got her convicted last year, qualifies as “legitimate employment” for a convicted felon.
Kelli Bias, the Erie County chief probation officer, has not responded to that question or others about whether Ford has violated the terms of her probation. Bias confirmed she has received complaints, including one from StayTunedSandusky, Tricia’s complaint and a number of others. StayTunedSandusky also reported in a news update that Perkins police Detective Joe Rotuno said misinformation being promoted by Ford and her supporters has endangered victims’ lives in one recent case that remains under investigation.
It’s not the first time Ford’s been accused of hindering police.
Ford suggests to supporters in her paid podcasts that she has new evidence. Her pattern is to recycle information and portray herself as an investigator. She rarely, if ever, provides anything to back up her claims, and when police have investigated her claims she refuses to provide the evidence she claims to have and she attacks the integrity of investigations. Ford and her supporters also often praise Ford for solving cold cases, taking undeserved credit for the work of detectives.
If Ford truly has “new evidence, texts, and a confession,” as she claimed, those belong in the hands of authorities—not behind a $5-a-month digital velvet rope.
The terms of her probation also require Ford to “obtain an assessment from a facility approved by the APD for substance and mental health” (both boxes clicked).
It’s unclear what Ford’s status is with her probation officer. Bias was asked earlier this week if Ford had been spoken with about her podcasts and whether she’s been asked or ordered to remove material from Facebook related to the complaint.
“I am looking into this and I have no comment at this time,” Bias responded.
Will truth come out
Sheriff Corbin in 2024, after Fred Reer was arrested for killing Amanda Dean, posted on Facebook that “God and the truth” would one day come out.
He was right. But the truth isn’t coming out because of his investigation; it’s being dragged out by the families he ignored. Between the pending lawsuits, the looming depositions, and the heartbreaking phone calls from mothers like Tricia Shepard, the “Fortress of Apathy” at the Sheriff’s Office might finally be cracking.
The truth is coming. And for some in Huron County, that day could come very soon.
📰 Read more
Paid subscribers get 100% access to all our archives plus free open records assistance from our help line (419-357-5051). News coverage of Ashli Ford’s criminal cases is the most comprehensive news account of the podcaster’s claims.
/30