Sheriff Corbin gets new evidence in Katelynn's murder
But blows off meeting with her mom
NORWALK — Huron County Sheriff Todd Corbin was forwarded new evidence Tuesday connected to the 2018 death of 21-year-old Katelynn Shepard, but he hasn't acknowledged receiving it.
It’s unclear if anyone from the sheriff’s office is going to follow up or properly log the evidence in under the case file. Katelynn was killed on July 9, 2018, after the pickup she was in went off the road on County Line Road 187 and burst into flames. Her remains were found in the passenger seat, and crash reconstruction investigators could not determine why the vehicle left the road, or why it caught fire.
There also was no evidence that there had been a driver of the truck when it crashed, and no mechanical malfunctions were found. Although the coroner ruled the death an accident, he and the sheriff’s office provided no evidence it was an accident.
Is Sheriff Corbin doing it again?
Corbin refused to meet with Katelynn’s mother, Tricia Shepard, and her advocate, Tracy Thom, on Tuesday. They scheduled an appointment with the sheriff for 9 a.m., but he was a no show. Corbin has never met with Tricia since her daughter was killed and has never provided her family any update on the investigation. She was at the sheriff’s office accompanied by Katelynn’s stepfather and her younger sister.
Thom said Tricia and her family have no confidence that the sheriff or his detectives are competent enough to continue investigating. The sheriff also is far too compromised, they say, given the state investigation into the false narrative he created after Amanda Dean was killed in 2017. Amanda was already dead, according to prosecutors, when Corbin claimed she was alive and safe but didn’t want to talk to her children, her mother or her sister.
Consistently stubborn
The sheriff stuck with that story until 2023, when public pressure for him to help the Dean family grew and forced him to ask the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) to launch an investigation of Amanda’s death. Thom, who triggered the BCI investigation after devising a “proof of life” demand to Corbin that caused him to ask BCI to take over, led a BCI investigator to the witnesses and evidence that got Fred Reer convicted for killing Amanda Dean almost eight years after he did it.
“The sheriff told Amanda Dean’s mother her daughter was alive. He kept telling them that. But she was dead,” Thom said. “How can this mother trust this sheriff. She can’t. She just can’t.”
Corbin is treating Katelynn’s family in the same rude and hostile way he treated the Dean family when he refused to investigate Amanda’s murder. The Dean family has a federal lawsuit pending against Corbin and 10 deputies alleging they denied Amanda Dean her civil rights and failed to arrest Reer when they should have, before he killed Amanda. Corbin and the other defendants are being deposed this spring.
Thom and Tricia both said Corbin should step aside.
They waited for Corbin in the lobby for about an hour. A dispatcher at the sheriff’s office told them she was looking for the sheriff and Lt. Bob Duncan, but could not locate them. Corbin allowed the women to wait in the lobby and never re-contacted them to reschedule. He did later contact a TV Channel 19 reporter making inquiries but he hasn’t responded to the local press.
Corbin told TV Channel 19 News that Katelynn’s case is still open, but he did not say he would turn it over to the BCI. The last time he did that his false narrative about Amanda’s murder was exposed and he could now face criminal charges. He refused to comment on that, on whether he is considering resigning, or about why his office is treating Tricia and her family in such a disrespectful manner.
Corbin and Duncan both also failed to respond to other questions about whether they’ve mishandled this case similarly to how Amanda Dean’s case was botched.
Where is the BCI?
The failure isn’t just local. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) is dragging its feet on filing charges against the Sheriff for his handling of these cases.
Is the state waiting for the federal lawsuit brought by the Dean family to play out?
Are they protecting a “brother in blue” while families in Huron County bury their daughters?
How many more “Amandas” and “Katelynns” must there be before the state realizes that a Sheriff who won’t investigate is just as dangerous as the man with the knife?
Editor’s Note: Convicted podcaster Ashli Ford has claimed for weeks that she’s discovered new evidence in the Katelynn Shepard case, although she has not provided that evidence to the sheriff’s office. The evidence turned over Tuesday is unrelated to Ford’s claim, which is not considered credible. Prosecutors say Ford exploits crime victims as clickbait and Tricia has filed a complaint against Ford for allegedly harassing her. Tricia claims Ford is using her daughter’s murder to make money on social media.
It's unfortunate for this sheriff that he does not work in Erie County. Then he and Matt would be best buds. So what's that about Westerhold? Why did you not dig deeper into the Dan Orzech story? A deputy literally used his position for sex. But that's not news I guess. You help your buds, go after your enemies. The very essence of a legendary journalist 👏🏅💰