CINCINNATI -- Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters announced Tuesday night he intended to seek the death penalty for Gary Box, a 41-year-old man accused of killing the mother of his child after a prolonged campaign of domestic violence against her and others.
"The facts, (Box's) record, and the likelihood for success at trial cry out for it," Deters said. "He is a dangerous, murderous individual."
Investigators discovered 37-year-old Tanisha Huff dead inside her Price Hill home Oct. 6 -- a little over a week after she filed a criminal complaint alleging Box had pointed a revolver at her after an argument. Another complaint filed Oct. 4 accused Box of sending threatening messages to an unidentified recipient and her children; a judge had granted both Huff and another complainant temporary restraining orders.
Tanisha Huff
Court records indicated Box had previously faced charges ranging from theft to assault to rape. The Hamilton County Clerk of Courts lists the majority of these charges as ignored or dismissed.
Box claimed Tuesday that Huff's death was an accident, but Judge Fanon Rucker was skeptical.
"He had threatened to kill her and another person, and then she showed up dead and he said it was an accident," he said.
Box was charged Monday with murder. Deters said he planned to send the case charge to a grand jury later in the week.
According to the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, a nonprofit advocacy group, the state had 115 fatalities from 83 cases of domestic violence between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017.
If you or someone you know is a victim of ongoing domestic violence, you can call the YWCA Domestic Violence Hotline at 513-872-9259 or the House of Peace Hotline at 513-753-7281. Both hotlines remain open 24 hours and work to connect survivors with shelter, support and legal advocacy.
