POMEROY, Ohio — An Ohio man pleaded not guilty Monday morning to six criminal charges including the alleged murder of a Kanawha County teenager.
Ernest Roach, 36, of Racine, Ohio, was arraigned in a Meigs County, Ohio courtroom after being indicted earlier this month. Roach is charged with one count of murder, two counts of compelling prostitution, two counts of tampering with evidence and one count of gross abuse of a corpse.
It’s alleged Roach killed Ericka Brown, 16, on Aug. 10. Brown, of Cross Lanes, was last seen by family members just hours earlier. A few Ohio residents spending some time on the Ohio River found her body wrapped in a tarp and tied to a concrete block near Portland, Ohio, Aug. 30. That’s the same day Roach was picked up by police as a person of interest in Brown’s disappearance.
Investigators with the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department have previously said Roach met Brown through a Craigslist ad she posted seeking money for sex.
A judge set bail Monday at $1 million set the trial for Dec. 1. Brown’s family was in the courtroom during the arraignment but did not speak with reporters afterward.