Jury finds woman not guilty of murder after man found dead in Hamilton County ditch

HAMILTON COUNTY — A woman charged in connection with the death of a man found in a ditch in 2020 in Hamilton County has been found not guilty of murder.

A jury found Katrina Fouts not guilty of murder and guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and failure to report human remains, according to court records. A charge of false informing was dismissed before the jury trial began.

Fouts was charged in September 2020 after David Michael Fouts, 50, of Pendleton, was found on April 24 in a ditch in the 21500 block of Overdorf Road.

A forensic pathologist ruled David's death as homicide by unspecific means and the manner of death was a homicide, according to a probable cause affidavit. According to court records, David Fouts had poisonous mushrooms in his stomach.

Fouts is scheduled to be sentenced at 1 p.m. on March 31, according to the Hamilton Superior Court 3.

Terry Hopkins, 64, was also charged in connection with David's death, but the charges were dismissed in February 2022, according to online court records.