Missing Ohio Trio Were Stabbed to Death; Bodies Found Stuffed in Hollowed Out Tree

Nov. 21, 2010— -- The Ohio woman, her young son and a family friend, whose bodies were found wrapped in garbage bags and stuffed in a hollow tree, were all repeatedly stabbed in the back and dismembered after they died, according to a preliminary coroner's report released today.

It did not appear -- "pending further tests" -- that any of the three were sexually assaulted, the autopsy report said.

"The most challenging and heartbreaking thing I have had to do as coroner is discuss these findings with the families of the deceased victims," Knox County corner J.F. Ogle said today. "The truth is often unspeakable."

The bodies of Tina Herrmann, 31, Stephanie Sprang, 41, and Kody Maynard, 11, were found Thursday afternoon in large plastic garbage bags, stuffed in a hollow tree.

The three, along with Herrmann's 13-year-old daughter Sarah Maynard, disappeared Nov. 10. According to the autopsy, all three were killed the same day.

Sarah was found Sunday, bound and gagged but alive, when a SWAT team stormed the home of Matthew Hoffman, who was arrested and charged with kidnapping.

"The story of Sarah Maynard's rescue will forever be remembered as an example of extraordinary detective work and bravery," Ogle said today.

Though the bodies of Herrmann, Sprang and Kody Maynard were discovered in the Kokosing Lake State Wildlife Area in Knox County, it was still not clear where the three were killed, according to the autopsy report.

The cause of death for all three was loss of blood as a result of the wounds in their backs, but all three also suffered additional wounds, according to the report.

"They were then placed inside large plastic garbage bags and later lowered into the hollow of a large tree," the report said.

The dismembered bodies were found with the remains of the family's miniature pinscher, Tanner, said a family friend Joe Pejsa, according to The Associated Press.

The final coroner's report will take six to eight weeks, Ogle said.

Knox County Sheriff David Barber said Thursday that Hoffman's lawyers told them where to find the victims.

"The discovery of these bodies was the result of information provided by Matthew Hoffman," Barber said. "We were optimistic a few days ago that there was a remote chance these persons were still alive. This is a homicide investigation now."