BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MIDDLETOWN -- Authorities believe they have found all the body parts of slaying victim Cheryl Ann Durkin, 34, of Middletown, and they're searching nationwide for James Lawson, the man accused of killing her.
Her dismembered torso was found in the Great Miami River near Hamilton in April.
Because local authorities believe Mr. Lawson may have fled the area, possibly to California, the FBI on Wednesday was seeking a federal fugitive warrant from a magistrate in Dayton, Ohio, said Ed Boldt, spokesman for the FBI's Cincinnati office. That warrant allows FBI agents to look for Mr. Lawson and then return him to local authorities.
As of Wednesday afternoon, police had no solid leads on Mr. Lawson's whereabouts, said Butler County Sheriff's Lt. Anthony Dwyer. Sheriff Harold Don Gabbard had said Tuesday that more arrests could come in the case, but officials wouldn't elaborate.
Mr. Lawson's mother, Ellen Peck, arrested Tuesday and accused of helping her son dispose of Ms. Durkin's body parts, appeared in Middletown Municipal Court on Wednesday. Judge Mark W. Wall set her bond at $1 million.
Prosectors said that if her son surrenders, they wouldn't oppose a reduction in Ms. Peck's bond.
But police think a surrender is unlikely.
They believe Mr. Lawson is trying to avoid capture by changing his appearance. Police learned he may have dyed his hair and changed its style, and may even be wearing colored contact lenses to change his eye color, Maj. Greg Schwarber of Middletown police said.
Mr. Lawson, 29, is 6 feet tall, 180 pounds. His natural hair color is light brown and his eyes are blue. He's considered armed and dangerous, and has a history of drug use and assaults, police said. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
Police previously questioned Mr. Lawson but lacked enough evidence for an arrest until Tuesday.
The motive for the slaying of Ms. Durkin has not been disclosed and police have said the nature of their relationship was unclear. Both Ms. Durkin and Mr. Lawson worked in construction-type jobs and frequented Middletown's Central Avenue area. They also both had drug habits, police and others said.
Police say evidence pointing to Mr. Lawson as the suspect came from various sources, and that cooperation among many police agencies played a major part.
"Blue Ash police got the tip that helped us go in the right direction," Maj. Schwarber said. He wouldn't elaborate. Besides finding evidence at Mr. Lawson's home on Garfield Street in Middletown, police say they also found additional evidence during a search of his mother's Rufus Street home Tuesday.
After that search and her arrest, Ms. Peck led police to some of Ms. Durkin's remains near Brookville Lake in Indiana on Tuesday, Maj. Schwarber said. Hours earlier, remains believed to be Ms. Durkin's were discovered in Rush Run State Park, Preble County. Butler County Coroner Dr. Richard Burkhardt said Wednesday he has not yet determined the cause of Ms. Durkin's death. He said there was evidence of trauma to the head.
Ms. Peck is accused of helping her son bury some of Ms. Durkin's body parts in early June, weeks after her torso was found along the Great Miami River and more than three months after the slaying. Police wouldn't say where or how they think the parts were stored before their disposal, but Maj. Schwarber said, "This is just the most bizarre case I've ever seen."
Dr. Burkhardt said he is certain that the body parts found Tuesday are those of Ms. Durkin. Two halves of the cervical vertebrae -- one found in the torso, the other in the remains found Tuesday -- were a perfect match, providing the primary support for that conclusion, he said.
Steve Kemme contributed to this report.
