MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- Middletown Municipal Court Judge Mark Wall bound the cases of the three men accused of murdering two Middletown residents over to the Butler County Grand Jury at a preliminary hearing Thursday.
Charles Ray Graham, 27, Doug Best, 28, and Derrick Brown, 22, are all charged with two counts of aggravated murder, one count of aggravated arson and one count of kidnapping in the deaths of Tiffany Hoskins, 36, and Joseph Romano, 47, both of Middletown.
Police believe the three men charged in the murders of two Middletown residents are part of a gang called Cincinnati White Boys.
Goldie Carpenter, Best’s mother, was at the court hearing Thursday. She said she is still trying to process what police say her son did.
"This is just unreal,” Carpenter said. “I can't imagine that my son did anything this horrible."
Police said the men took turns shooting Romano in his Middletown home. Police found Romano’s body on Nov. 4, and less than 24 hours later, authorities found Hoskins’ burned body at an abandoned home.
Police said the three forced her into an abandoned home, bleached her and set her on fire. Police also said Hoskins’ vaginal swab test contained Best’s DNA.
Detectives said Best lived next door to the house where Hoskins’ body was found.
Tina Payne, Hoskins’ sister, said she thought the house Best lived in was another abandoned house.
"We had a vigil over there, and all the lights were out like it was an abandoned house and it's not,” Payne said. “They were probably sitting there watching the whole time. It makes me sick."
Best’s mother said she is heartbroken for the Romano and Hoskins families.
"I want them to know that I'm very sorry for everything that's happened and everything that they're going through, and I hope and pray that it comes out that my son didn't have anything to do with this,” Carpenter said. “I really do, and I truly in my heart feel sorry for them."
WCPO’s media partner, The Journal-News, contributed to this report.
