Springfield man charged in death also convicted in seperate murder

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

A Springfield man has been charged with the murder of a woman who’s bones were found in a wooded area in Greene County last May.

Prentiss Hare, 35, has been indicted on charges of aggravated murder, murder, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse in connection with the death of Tiffany Chambers.

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Chambers’ remains were found in Spring Valley Twp. in May 2016, Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson said, and she was killed in July 2015.

“We believe that the murder occurred in the city of Springfield,” he said, “and that her body was transported and dumped in Greene County.”

Wilson declined to talk about details of the case but court records say a motive for the killing may have been, “that Ms. Chambers owed Mr. Hare an unknown amount of money.”

The affidavit also says it’s believed the murder occurred at a house on Pleasant Street.

Investigators believe Chambers’ traveled with Hare from Jacksonville, Fla., to Springfield before she was killed. Hare’s girlfriend at the time, Hannah Whitman, has also been charged in connection to the case.

Prentiss Hare is arraigned on aggravated murder charges in Clark County Common Pleas Court. JEFF GUERINI/STAFF

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She’s been indicted on charges of tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.

“We believe she assisted in disposing of the body in Greene County,” Wilson said.

The Springfield Police Division worked together with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation in order to charge Hare and Whitman.

“We’ve still got a lot of hard work to do in this case,” Springfield Police Chief Steve Moody said.

“There are people that know more,” he said. “We’re always looking for that information.”

These charges are one step toward justice for Chambers and her family, he said.

“This is part of the grieving process of this family but it’s just starting,” he said. “This is going to be a long road.”

Hare has already been convicted in another murder case. In December, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 26 years for strangling a man to death and a robbery charge.

He’s also awaiting trial for rape and kidnapping charges in a separate case. Hare appeared in Clark County Common Pleas Court on Thursday and told a magistrate he wanted to plead not guilty to the new charges. The magistrate said she wouldn’t accept the plea until Hare has an attorney present and continued the arraignment to next week.

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