Stabbing suspect appears in Muni Court

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert Police Department has released the names of the victims of a stabbing incident that occurred at 106 S. Wall St. (Wall and Main) at approximately 7:37 Sunday evening.

City resident Michael Keipper, 25, has been charged with two counts of felonious assault (second-degree felony) and one count of aggravated burglary, a felony of the first degree, in connection with the incident.

Keipper made his initial appearance in Van Wert Municipal Court this morning via video camera from the Van Wert County Correctional Facility. Judge Jill Leatherman set a $50,000 bond on each of the three charges and scheduled a preliminary hearing for 9 a.m. Friday, October 31.

According to police information, those stabbed include Keipper’s spouse, Megan A. Gillette, 24, who lived at the Wall Street address; Kody N. Detwiler, 24, of Ohio City, an alleged boyfriend of Gillette’s; and Raenita L. Hibbard, 32, a downstairs tenant in the Wall Street apartment house with a West Main Street address.

Detwiler had also earlier this month been involved in an accident that led to his crashing his car into a house on U.S. 127 south of Van Wert.

No other information has been released on whether the stabbing victims are still hospitalized, or, if so, what their condition is at this time.