Deaths of woman, man found in Mad River Twp. home ruled a murder-suicide

The case of the two people who were found dead inside a home in late December Mad River Twp. near Enon has been closed and ruled a murder-suicide, according to case records.

Julie Hamilton, 47, and Sean Inman, 49, were found dead Dec. 30, 2020, inside their home in the 8100 block of Gibson Avenue, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the Clark County Coroner’s final autopsy report, both Hamilton and Inman died as a result of gunshot wounds to the head, the incident report stated.

“This report is being closed and ruled as a homicide of Julie Hamilton and suicide of Sean Inman,’' according to the case file.

Deputies responded to the home around 9:05 a.m. for a welfare check, according to the sheriff’s office.

“I need to see if I can get a welfare check,” a woman said in the 911 call. “It’s actually Sean Inman … he is one of our employees. He hasn’t shown up for work and nobody’s been able to reach him, it’s not like him at all.”

Julie Hamilton. CONTRIBUTED/CLARK ESC

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The woman told dispatch that Inman hadn’t been seen or heard from in over 24 hours, case records show. She said she had attempted to reach some of his other contacts, including his girlfriend, Hamilton, and her ex-husband, and that nobody had reached either of them.

When deputies arrived at the house, they found two vehicles in front of the residence, one belonging to Inman and one to Hamilton.

Deputies knocked several times on the front door and side windows with no answer, according to the incident report. They then went around back and knocked on the back door.

“(A sergeant) was then able to look inside the rear door window and noticed a male subject laying on the ground in the kitchen area,” the incident report stated.

Deputies then forced entry into the house and noticed “another female subject laying on the ground in the kitchen with apparent gunshot wounds to both subjects.”

Police said evidence showed there “was some type of struggle,” the report stated. “In looking at all of the evidence on the scene, it was most probable that Mr. Inman and Ms. Hamilton were in a violent altercation.”

Both Hamilton and Inman were pronounced dead on scene.

Clark County Sheriff’s deputies and detectives along with Mad River Twp. Fire & EMS and a Clark County Coroner’s Office investigator all responded to the incident.

Hamilton was an occupational therapy assistant at Clark-Shawnee Local Schools, and was employed by the Clark County Educational Service Center to provide occupational therapy services to students, according to the district.

Hamilton also was a singer songwriter in the Dayton music scene and played in the band “Mercy Woods,” according to her obituary.

“Julie’s creativity and optimism is going to be missed. She was a goofball in every sense of the word. She was a bright light that shined on everyone,” her obituary stated.

Hamilton is survived by her children, Devin Litton, Mercy McConnell and Mara Hamilton; granddaughter, Callie Jo Litton; brothers, John, Anthony and Carlos Miller and Levi Adams; sisters, Teri Pennington and Michelle Simon; and numerous other family members and friends, according to her obituary.

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