Hearing scheduled for Ryan Houser

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A Rockford man accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend in Van Wert in early September 2023 is due back in court this week.

Ryan Houser, 39, is scheduled to appear at a pre-trial conference in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court on Friday. He’s 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 death of Barbara Ganger, 43, who was found dead at Van Wert West Apartments on W. Main St. on September 4, 2023.

Houser has been in custody for over a year, unable to post a $1 million bond. He was scheduled to stand in April 15, but the case has been delayed multiple times by two changes of legal counsel and a long list of motions. A new trial date has not been set and it’s unknown if one will be set at Friday’s hearing. However, it appears the case will spill over into 2025.

Houser’s most recent court appearance was nearly two months ago when his lawyer, defense attorney Kenneth Rexford, claimed Houser has an alibi.

In a motion filed with the court, Rexford claims his client was in or near Rockford all day on September 4, 2023, and not at the scene of the murder.  He also noted the Lucas County Coroner’s Office, which conducted Ganger’s 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 in 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 early October, Judge Martin Burchfield approved a request for $2,000 funding for an expert witness to assist, advise and possibly testify on behalf of Houser regarding the time of death in the case. Rexford indicated the witness, Dr. John Husaker, could:

• Assess the field notes, death examiner’s report, autopsy, coroner’s field notes, and responses to new discovery.
• Possibly provide an expert assessment of time of death.
• Provide advice on cross examination of state witnesses.
• Advise settlement discussions if warranted.

The case is one of two separate, pending murder trials in Van Wert County. The other one involves a Van Wert man, Larry Andrus Jr., who’s accused of killing his stepfather last year. That case has been delayed until 2025.