New motions filed in Houser case

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A man awaiting trial on charges tied to the shooting death of a Van Wert woman in September of 2023 now says he has an alibi.

According to paperwork filed with the Van Wert County Clerk of Courts Office on September 10, Ryan Houser was in or near Rockford all day on September 4, 2023, and not at the scene of the murder of Barbara Ganger. In the motion, defense attorney Kenneth Rexford said the Lucas County Coroner’s Office, which conducted the autopsy, indicated the time of death was 10:43 p.m. September 4, 2023.

“While that exact time seems dubious, there are reasons to believe that the date of September 4, 2023, is accurate,” Rexford wrote in the motion. “If so, then Mr. Houser would likely present evidence that he was in Rockford, Ohio, or in the very near vicinity of Rockford, Ohio, the entirety of September 4, such that he was not at the location of the murder of Barbara Ganger at 815 W. Main St., Van Wert.”

Rexford also wrote that Houser reached his sister’s house prior to departing for Rockford sometime around 8 p.m. on September 3, 2023, and was seen at approximately 7:55 p.m. on video heading that direction. The motion seems to indicate that Houser’s whereabouts between 8 p.m. and midnight that night would also be covered by the alibi. 

In other developments, in a judgement entry dated September 11, Van Wert County Common Pleas Court Judge Martin Burchfield overruled a defense motion to suppress evidence obtained from a search of cloud storage of data from Houser’s cell phone. Judge Burchfield also denied a motion asking for a change of venue on a Mercer County weapons charge against Houser, depending on a decision from Mercer County. Rexford sought to have the Mercer County charge moved to Van Wert County.

Houser’s next scheduled court appearance is Monday, September 30, for a pre-trial conference.

Houser, 39, of Rockford, is charged with aggravated murder, an unclassified felony; murder, an unclassified felony; possessing a weapon under disability, a third degree felony, along with tampering with evidence. The charges are connected to the September, 2023, death of Barbara Ganger, 43, who was Houser’s girlfriend. She was found dead at Van Wert West Apartments. She had been shot twice, once in the stomach area and once in the head.

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 the Van Wert County Correctional Facility in lieu of $1 million bond.

Houser was originally scheduled to stand trial the week of April 15, but the case has been delayed multiple times by two changes of legal counsel, a suppression hearing and various other motions. A new trial date has not been set.