AUGLAIZE COUNTY — A trio charged with crimes related to the murder of a father in Auglaize County is now facing federal charges after the FBI uncovered information about the origin of the drug deputies say was used to kill him.
Amanda Hovanec, 35, is charged with murder after deputies said she injected a drug into her estranged husband after he dropped off the couple’s three children at a house on Middle Pike Road.
Auglaize County court records accused Amanda of injecting Timothy Hovanec with an “overdose of a synthetic opioid” with the purpose to kill him.
Two others, including Amanda’s mother Anita Green and Anthony Theodorou, also were charged with murder related to Timothy’s death on April 24, court records show.
Federal prosecutors Monday charged Amanda and Theodorou with distribution of a controlled substance, drug conspiracy and importation of a controlled substance. Theodorou and Green also are charged federally with “accessory after the fact.”
Federal agents learned in interviews with Amanda and Theodorou that the drug deputies said killed Timothy was shipped to Amanda’s house by Theodorou after he got it from a veterinarian in South Africa, court records show.
Theodorou referred to the drug as M99 during his interview with the FBI.
“When asked what Theodorou believed M99 to be, he said that it was an animal tranquilizer,” federal agents wrote in court records. “A United States Customs and Border Protection Officer was able to locate CBP records indicating a DHL package mailed from Petoria, South Africa on February 22.”
Dash camera footage from inside Timothy’s vehicle on April 24 show him pulling up to Amanda and Green’s home to drop off the three kids, agents said. Green is seen taking the children inside the house.
Agents say seconds later in the video Timothy is heard saying “What the heck are you doing? Did you just assault me?”
“Amanda then aggressively wrestles for his phone eventually knocking it out of his hand onto the ground,” court records read. “She held him around the neck (not choking him) until his body went limp.”
The FBI said that is when Amanda picked up his cellphone, took off what appeared to be an Apple watch and then turned off the car, which stopped the video as Timothy laid unconscious and unresponsive in the driveway.
Agents said Amanda admitted that she injected Timothy in the shoulder “while they were standing next to his vehicle after he dropped off the children.”
After she said she injected the drug into Timothy, Amanda said she drove his vehicle to an area near Highland Park in Dayton. That’s where agents said she ditched the car and took off the license plate and disposed of it and Timothy’s cell phone, watch, syringe and vial containing the drug.
Amanda told agents Theodorou drove a different vehicle and followed her to the park and they then drove back to Auglaize County together.
Amanda had told Green prior to Timothy’s death “that she was going to kill him,” agents said.
After his death, according to the court affidavit, Amanda left Timothy’s body in the garage and put a plastic bag over his head because she was concerned about fluids coming from Timothy’s body.
Once returning from Dayton, agents said Green drove Amanda and Theodorou to the northwest corner of Blank Pike and Wrestle Creek Road in Auglaize County, where she dropped them off.
“Amanda and Theodorou used shovels from Green’s home to bury the body. Amanda said that Green dropped them off and later returned to pick her and Theodorou up at a predetermined time,” FBI agents said. “Amanda picked the burial site because it was near farmland her grandfather used to own.”
Green told agents Theodorou, a South African citizen, met Amanda while she was in South Africa with Timothy for his job with the U.S. Department of State, records show. Theodorou and Amanda developed a relationship, Green told agents.
Court records show Amanda filed for divorce with Timothy back in December 2020 and about a year later, court officials noted that “the parties issues have become contentious in nature.”
Over the past several months, Amanda had tried to get the court to take away Timothy’s rights to see the children, but the court denied her request, online court records show.
Timothy also accused Amanda of violating court orders on his visitation rights and just last week the court ordered Timothy to be able to visit with his children from April 22 to April 24, domestic relations court documents showed.
Amanda had an upcoming appearance scheduled in court for June 15, where she would have to show the court why she shouldn’t be held in contempt of court.
Auglaize County deputies said Timothy was reported missing to the Wapakoneta Police Department on April 26, two days after he dropped off his children to Amanda at her home in the 19000 block of Middle Pike Road.
The missing person case was launched after the hotel Timothy had been staying at called to say he had failed to check out.
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