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Evidence missing from deadly hit-and-run case

Trial set to begin in January
Posted at 3:03 PM, Nov 17, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-17 18:54:42-05

CINCINNATI -- A deadly hit-and-run trial hit a snag when a disc containing important evidence went missing.

Thomas Stidham, 24, is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of Cathy Chatfield, 57, who was killed during a hit-and-run as she was running in the Seven Hills Run in December 2015.

Stidham was arrested almost a month after Chatfield was killed; Cincinnati police took statements from at least nine witnesses. Those statements helped lead police to Stidham.

In court on Thursday, officials said the disc containing the statements and the copy uploaded to the department's system's hard drive is "nowhere to be found."

"You can accurately know what was said and then, after you record them, go back and do a synopsis of what they said and write that down in the case jacket," said Sgt. Jason Scott from Cincinnati police's traffic unit.

The judge will now rule on the motion to allow an information technology professional to testify in court to discuss the missing statements.

The trial itself is set to begin in January.