The family of a murdered Westwood woman always thought her boyfriend had something to do with her death.

Boyles

        Now, almost five months after Sara Ridder was shot to death through her apartment door, their belief is backed up with something official. William David Boyles, the father of Ms. Ridder's three young children, was arrested for complicity to commit her murder.

        Mr. Boyles, 27, of Price Hill, had been on an electronic monitoring device at the time of the April 15 homicide because of a domestic violence incident in March involving Ms. Ridder, 24. Officials said the device indicated he did not go near Ms. Ridder the day she was killed.

        But her family, including her father, former retired Cincinnati police union president Sgt. Pete Ridder, has always thought Mr. Boyles was involved.

        Friday, the day a judge was to decide whether taped statements from the dead woman could be used against Mr. Boyles in the domestic violence case, police charged Mr. Boyles in the death. But they said little more, including whom he allegedly helped commit the crime.

Sara Ridder

        The couple had a violent relationship, her family says, and Ms. Ridder feared him. She had been hiding from him for weeks and had been back at her Westwood apartment one day when she was killed there.

        The two met when Ms. Ridder was 18. She got pregnant at 19 and by 22 was a single mother of three — Peter, Joshlyn and Kasey.

        Mr. Boyles has a significant criminal history, including convictions for disorderly conduct and endangerment.

        He was convicted of domestic violence in 2000 for another incident involving Ms. Ridder and was sent to prison after violating his initial sentence of probation. He had a previous domestic violence conviction in 1995 involving someone else.

        Another man, Danny Battaglia Jr., a friend of Mr. Boyles, also was charged in connection with the death, for allegedly failing to tell police what he knew about the assault rifle used to kill Ms. Ridder. He pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and also faces federal charges for possession of a gun with its serial number erased.

        The decision on using the taped statements was postponed until another hearing Sept. 17.

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