Marsha Thigpen, 62, of Ripley, Ohio, died on August 9, 2017. She was found unresponsive beside her pickup truck on Ripley-Day Hill Road; the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. Thigpen was a graduate of The Ohio State University and was self-employed at the time of her death.

An investigation led to the arrest of 83-year-old businessman John Crum of Peebles, Ohio, in September 2017. A Brown County grand jury indicted Crum on charges of aggravated murder and murder. During proceedings he was found incompetent to stand trial due to a major neurocognitive disorder, but the court nonetheless found by clear and convincing evidence that he committed Thigpen’s murder. In September 2019 Judge Scott Gusweiler ordered that Crum remain under court jurisdiction and placed him at Summit Behavioral Healthcare in Cincinnati, a secure facility where he cannot be released.

Anyone who knew Marsha Thigpen or has information about her last known movements on August 9, 2017, is asked to come forward.