[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A Michigan man has been re-arrested for allegedly intentionally running over a 64-year-old retired nurse and grandmother with his car after police determined he did so to have sex with her corpse.
Colby Martin (pictured in mugshot, above) had originally been charged with both hit and run manslaughter AND trying to conceal a body after he was arrested on September 20, 2021 for allegedly hitting retired nurse Melody Rohrer with his car and killing her in the Hamilton Township of Clare County.
However, once investigators took a deeper look at the 29-year-old man’s internet search history, they determined something far darker and more disturbing appears to have happened following Rohrer’s death.
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Things all started back on that fateful September day, when Rohrer left home for some exercise along County Road in the Hamilton Township area. When she didn’t return home after several hours, she was reported missing by her husband.
Police tracked her cell phone, and detectives discovered it in Martin’s possession at a Walmart in Oshtemo Township, about 30 miles away from where she’d gone missing. When investigators discovered further, they determined that Martin’s 2013 Ford F-150 truck showed “evidence of severe front end damage,” per a police affidavit.
After being questioned by cops, Martin admitted to police he had struck the woman as she walked along outside the Oak Shores Campground near her home. Then, he led investigators to Rohrer’s body at Three Rivers State Game Area — a location about 26 miles away from where he allegedly struck her with his truck. Once at the heavily-wooded public park, cops discovered her body and determined Martin “had made multiple attempts to conceal several pieces of evidence,” per ABC13.
Martin was initially charged with manslaughter with a motor vehicle, failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death when at fault, and concealing the death of an individual. A judge eventually released him on a $300,000 bond.
However, once investigators dug into Martin’s internet history, they discovered something far more disturbing. Detectives say they looked at Martin’s computer and found that he had sought out “pornography involving dead or unconscious women” in the hours after Rohrer was reported missing, according to media reports.
Detectives also found used condoms in a trash can outside Martin’s home. Forensic investigators later determined that the used prophylactics contained DNA from both Martin and Rohrer. Absolutely vile…
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Late last week, Martin was re-arrested by authorities at his girlfriend’s house. He has now been charged with murder, as prosecutors are arguing that he purposely ran down Rohrer with the intention of having sex with her dead body.
This time around, Van Buren County District Court Judge Michael McKay denied him bail, saying in court:
“That is a very different set of facts. I think he represents the most extreme danger to the public. Chilling doesn’t begin to describe it.”
Martin’s attorney, Jim Mequio, disagreed with the re-arrest and upgraded murder charge, telling local media outlets:
“We’re still waiting for reports and more evidence from the prosecutor’s office. From a legal standpoint, I’m not seeing the increase in charges will be justified.”
Uhh…
Here is more on Martin’s initial arrest in the case, from last fall (below):
Wow.
This is such a terrible situation — made even worse by these new updates regarding Martin’s internet search history and alleged motives in the case.
[Image via Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office]
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