Staff report
GEORGETOWN -The husband of an Aberdeen woman who died of an apparent drug overdose has been indicted on a number of criminal charges, including involuntary manslaughter, in relation to her death.
Christine Crane, 41, was pronounced dead at Meadowview Regional Medical Center in Maysville, Ky., after her husband, Robert Crane, called 911 from their Aberdeen home on March 17 to report that she was unresponsive and turning blue. A forensic analysis ordered at the request of Mason County Coroner Robert Brothers identified a heroin overdose as the cause of Christine Crane's death.
Robert Crane was arrested in a Maysville, Ky. bar in the early hours of March 18, on a failure-to-appear warrant unrelated to her death. He later posted bail.
Following extensive investigation by law enforcement officials with the Brown County Sheriff's Office, a Brown County grand jury indicted Robert Crane on 11 criminal charges, including eight felony and three misdemeanor counts, according to a statement released by Brown Count Prosecuting Attorney Jessica Little.
The charges and the prosecutor's announcement allege that Robert Crane provided the drugs that killed his wife.
Among the most significant charges in the indictment are two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The involuntary manslaughter charges take a different perspective on how Ohio Revised Code may apply the the situation that resulted in Christine Crane's death. The first of the involuntary manslaughter charges accuses Robert Crane of causing Christine Crane's death by committing the offense of Permitting Drug Abuse. That count is a third-degree felony punishable by one to five years in prison if convicted.
The second involuntary manslaughter charge accuses Robert Crane of causing his wife's death by allegedly committing the crime of Corrupting Another with Drugs. Conviction on that charge, a first-degree felony, carries a significantly stiffer maximum sentence of three to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Permitting Drug Abuse and Corrupting Another with Drugs are each listed twice as separate charges in the indictment.
Both Permitting Drug Abuse charges accuse Robert Crane of allowing property that he owned, leased, rented or supervised to be used in the commission of the felony drug offense Possession of Heroin by Christine Crane. The only difference in those charges is the time-frame - the first covers March 16 and March 17, while the second alleged the permission of drug abuse between Nov. 1, 2010 and March 15 of this year. Both counts are first-degree misdemeanors.
The Corrupting Another with Drugs charges alleged that Robert Crane "knowingly, by any means, administered or furnished to Christine Crane or induced or caused Christine Crane to use a controlled substance with purpose to cause serious harm to Christine Crane, or with purpose to cause Christine crane to become drug dependant," and further alleges that the drug involved was heroin. The separate counts also cover different time-frames - the first alleging the corruption occurred between March 16-17, and the second alleging the crime was committed between Jan. 1 and March 17.
Robert Crane was additionally indicted on two charges of possession of heroin, both fifth-degree felonies; one count of possessing drug abuse instruments, a second-degree misdemeanor; one count of complicity to trafficking in heroin, a fifth-degree felony; and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony.
The online jail roster provided by the Brown County Sheriff's Office did not display Robert Crane as an inmate as of 6 p.m. Thursday, May 26.
Prior to Thursday's indictments, Robert Crane has a criminal history in Brown County, including a 2009 conviction for Domestic Violence in which his wife was the victim.
Brown County Court of Common Pleas records indicate Robert Crane was sentenced to six months in prison in June 2009 after pleading guilty to a felonious assault charge filed in September 2007. Aside from the charge of felonious assault with specification, a second-degree felony, three other charges in the indictment, including vandalism, aggravated menacing and a separate felonious assault charge, were dismissed.
The sentence was ordered to run concurrent with a six month sentence for Robert Crane's conviction on a fourth-degree felony domestic violence charge stemming from allegations filed in January 2009. Court records indicate Christine Crane was the complaining witness in the case.
The sentence also included up to three years of post-release control.
When Robert Crane was indicted for the 2009 Domestic Violence charge, the grand jury found an additional specification that Robert Crane had been convicted of Domestic Violence in 2008 in Brown County Municipal Court. The Brown County Municipal Court online docket indicates Robert Crane was charged with Domestic Violence July 2008, September 2008, December 2008 and May 2010.
An indictment is not a finding nor verdict of guilt. By law, all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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