Thursday, June 17, 1999
Love expresses surprise at notoriety
'It's pretty much just like Billy the Kid'
BY TANYA BRICKING
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Love
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Osterbrock
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Lance Love rubbed his fingers across the stubble of a new beard Wednesday, explaining that he wasn't allowed a razor in jail.
His appearance was about all he would discuss before cutting short an interview at the Hamilton County Justice Center, where he's locked up on a charge of aggravated murder.
The one-time fugitive, who spent nights hiding in cemeteries during a month-long manhunt, said he was surprised to find he was the center of so much attention.
Through a telephone sepa rated by glass in the inmate visiting area, he said he didn't know his case was such a big deal.
Mr. Love, 32, who called himself Sequoia Johanson, could be sentenced to death if he's convicted of the May 9 strangulation of Jim Osterbrock, 52, a business executive.
“There's really not much to tell,” Mr. Love said. “I had no idea it was turning into something this big.”
The search for Mr. Love began May 14, the day after Mr. Osterbrock was found dead in the cellar of his Mount Auburn home.
Mr. Love, a drifter who had done work on the antiques collector's home, eluded police for nearly a month.
A construction worker first spotted Mr. Love May 14 in Clermont County's Union Township, where he was driving Mr. Osterbrock's sport-utility vehicle.
Police followed him, but lost track of Mr. Love after he crashed the truck and fled into the woods. The ensuing search included police helicopters, search dogs and about 50 officers, but Mr. Love got away.
“It's pretty much just like Billy the Kid,” Mr. Love said. “I knew they were looking for me but not all that was going on. I thought I was in trouble for taking the truck and stuff.”
But prosecutors think he did much more than steal Mr. Osterbrock's truck. They say he plotted his crime against a man who trusted him enough to give him the security code to his restored Victorian home.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said Mr. Love was armed with a gun and waiting for Mr. Osterbrock to return from a Mother's Day dinner when he robbed the paper company vice president and strangled him.
He said Mr. Love covered the body with bags, Christmas decorations and other items in the basement before driving off. Prosecutors say he returned the next day, stole more items and used the dead man's credit cards. They say he buried some of the items in cemeteries, where he hid from police.
Mr. Love cut short an interview with The Enquirer Wednesday before getting into details of the case. His attorney, Perry Ancona, declined to comment.
Prosecutors say Mr. Love's statement to police suggests his motive was robbery. Since his arrest a week ago, a grand jury has indicted him on charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, theft and burglary.
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