Houser appears for suppression hearing

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A decision is pending after a suppression hearing was held in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on Monday.

The hearing was held at the request of defense attorney Zachary Maisch, who is representing Ryan Houser, 38, of Celina, and formerly of Rockford. Houser is charged with aggravated murder, an unclassified felony; murder, an unclassified felony; possessing a weapon under disability, a third degree felony, and tampering with evidence, a third degree felony. The charges are tied to the September 2023 death of Houser’s girlfriend, Barbara Ganger, of Van Wert.

In paperwork filed with the court, Maisch claims Houser was never given a Miranda warning during interviews with law enforcement officers, including four separate interviews on September 5, 2023, and after Houser was jailed September 8 on an unrelated charge in Mercer County. He’s also seeking to have the court to suppress multiple statements solicited from Houser by law enforcement officers on different occasions during the investigation.

During Monday’s 45-minute hearing, two Van Wert Police Department detectives took the stand and were questioned by Van Wert County Prosecutor Eva Yarger and Maisch. Lt. Rob Black and Sgt. Brock Blackmore testified that Houser was given his Miranda rights, as well as a reminder of his rights, before each interview. In addition, Yarger provided Judge Martin Burchfield an audio file of one of the interviews, and Assistant Prosecutor Dillon Staas noted statements made by Houser are critical to the case. 

Houser was interviewed by detectives at his Rockford home, at the Rockford Police Department and at the Van Wert Police Department. In court documents, Maisch claimed Houser was surrounded by multiple officers while he was seated on the porch of his home, “limiting his movement, or at the very least, intimidating him into the belief that he wasn’t free to leave.” Black and Blackmore both testified that at no time did law enforcement officers attempt to intimidate Houser.

No other testimony was heard and Houser remained silent throughout the hearing. Judge Burchfield advised both sides he’d review the information and issue a decision in writing.

Houser is accused of fatally shooting Ganger, 43, at Van Wert West Apartments on September 3. Her body was discovered a day later, after the Van Wert Police Department was contacted to do a welfare check.

Houser was arrested and jailed in Mercer County on September 8 on unrelated charges of having a weapon under disability and a probation/parole violation. He was indicted by a Van Wert County grand jury November 2, and pleaded not guilty during an arraignment hearing held several days later. He remains in jail in lieu of $1 million bond.

Houser was originally scheduled to stand trial the week of April 15, but it was delayed after he switched attorneys. A new trial date has not been set. No trial date has been set on the charges in Mercer County.