WILMINGTON - Prosecutors say Tracey Baker, half brother of the man convicted of murdering Carrie Culberson, told witnesses that red paint on the sideboards of his semitrailer truck was from Ms. Culberson's missing car.
But by the time Mr. Baker was arrested more than a year after Ms. Culberson's disappearance, the sideboards were gone.
''We didn't get a chance to look at that truck until September,'' said Richard Moyer, an assistant prosecutor for Clinton County. The red paint detail is part of court documents, filed Wednesday, that outline prosecutors' allegations about the two hours they say Mr. Baker and Vince Doan spent disposing of Ms. Culberson's body.
Ms. Culberson, 22, of Blanchester, disappeared Aug. 29, 1996, after witnesses saw Mr. Doan, her boyfriend, hitting her. Her body and red Honda have not been found. Mr. Doan was convicted in August of kidnapping and killing her and was sentenced to life in prison. After Mr. Doan's conviction, prosecutors charged Tracey Baker, 33, and Lawrence Baker, Tracey's father, with helping Mr. Doan cover up the crime. Both Bakers have pleaded not guilty.
According to prosecutors and court documents, Mr. Doan killed Ms. Culberson between 1 and 3 a.m. Aug. 29. He arrived at Tracey Baker's house about 3:15 a.m. - smeared with blood.
Mr. Doan and Tracey Baker left with garbage bags and a handgun, returning about two hours later, both spattered with blood.
About 9 p.m. Aug. 29, Mr. Doan made a collect call to his mother from a pay phone near the Ohio River in Cincinnati's California neighborhood, Mr. Moyer said. Prosecutors think he was looking for his father to help him dump Ms. Culberson's body into the river. A second search of the river near the pay phone was made last week, but nothing was found.
