Authorities: Woman’s death, family slaying don’t seem linked

LATHAM, Ohio – State investigators reviewing the death of a woman found in woods in southern Ohio say they have no reason to believe it’s linked to the slayings of some of her relatives in a 2016 family massacre.

Authorities say 35-year-old Violet Taylor, of Latham, was found Monday along a rural road, roughly 60 miles (97 kilometres) south of Columbus. They haven’t shared other details.

A spokesman says Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation is reviewing whether foul play was involved. An autopsy was planned.

The Chillicothe Gazette reports Taylor was a cousin of some of the Rhoden family members killed in April 2016.

Seven adults and a teenage boy from that family were found shot at four homes near Piketon. No suspect has been publicly identified, and the motive remains a mystery.