Thomas Wayne Cottrell Jr. was a 34-year-old Danville, Ohio police officer who was ambushed and fatally shot behind the village’s municipal building shortly after 11:00 PM on January 17, 2016. His service weapon and patrol car were taken from the scene. The shooting followed a 911 call from his ex-girlfriend warning that her boyfriend, Herschel Jones III, was armed and looking to kill a police officer; attempts to reach Officer Cottrell by dispatch were unsuccessful and he was found shot about 30 minutes later.

Herschel Jones III, 32, was located early the next morning after being seen running from a home in the village and taken into custody. Jones later pleaded guilty to aggravated murder; in exchange for the plea the prosecution dropped the death penalty and he was sentenced to life without parole. Cottrell’s life partner, Tanya Elliott, and his mother, Melissa Osborn, publicly expressed their grief, and fellow officers honored him by wearing his unit number on their badges.

Was anyone in Danville that night aware of unusual activity near the municipal building or of the events that led up to the 911 call?