Belle Valley Man Sentenced to Life for Murdering Fiancée

(CALDWELL, Ohio) — Tyler Thompson has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing his fiancée, Leah B. Hines, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today.

“This man killed a person he claimed to love and had promised to share a life with. He richly deserves his sentence of life in prison without parole,” Yost said. “Say her name and remember her: Leah Hines.”

Thompson, 29, of Belle Valley was convicted earlier this month of one count of aggravated murder and two counts of murder, all unclassified felonies, after a three-day trial in Noble County Common Pleas Court. He was sentenced on Monday.

Hines, 27, was fatally shot in the chest on March 21 at her home on Outpost Road.

Besides the murder charges, Thompson was convicted of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, and sentenced to 24 months in prison, to run concurrently with his life sentence.

Noble County Prosecutor Jordan Croucher and Special Prosecutor James Lowe of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office presented the case against Thompson.

BCI, part of Yost’s office, assisted Noble County Sheriff Jason Mackie with the investigation.