$10 million bond set for Butler Twp. shooting suspect in first Ohio court appearance

VANDALIA — The man accused of shooting and killing four people in Butler Twp. made his first court appearance in Ohio this morning.

News Center 7 was in court today when a Vandalia Municipal Court judge set Stephen Marlow’s bond at $10 million.

Marlow, 39, was represented by a public defender for his initial appearance, but told the court he was in the process of hiring a private attorney.

A plea was not entered during this morning’s court appearance.

>> Butler Twp. shooting: Suspect in slaying of 4 is returned from Kansas, jailed in Montgomery County

Marlow was previously named the primary suspect in the killings of Clyde and Eva Knox, and Sarah and Kayla Anderson. All four were shot and killed at two homes on Hardwicke Place on Aug. 5.

After a nationwide manhunt, he was taken into custody by police in Lawrence, Kansas just over 24 hours after the shooting.

Marlow made three court appearances in Douglas County District Court. During his third appearance on Aug. 11, he waived his extradition to Ohio. He was brought back to Ohio and booked in the Montgomery County Jail Wednesday evening, according to online jail records.

Marlow has been charged with eight counts of aggravated murder, four counts of aggravated burglary and one count of having weapons under disability.

News Center 7 confirmed that the federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution filed against Marlow has been dismissed. A spokesperson for the Southern District of Ohio said the charge was automatically dismissed once Marlow was in custody.

We’ll update this story as we learn more.

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