Andrus
VAN WERT — An Oct. 2 pretrial hearing was scheduled Wednesday in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court for Larry Andrus, charged with the murder last fall of a fellow county resident.
A pretrial hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning failed to materialize after attorneys met behind closed doors with Judge Martin Burchfield to discuss a motion filed Aug. 8 by defense attorney Barry Schroeder. It regards an expert witness the defense sought from Chris Ulrich, assistant Van Wert County coroner, which pertains to evidence “new to the defense and the state… which could result in a prejudicial effect to the defendant,” according to court records.
Ulrich is to prepare a report and submit it to the court within 30 days.
Andrus is a suspect in the Sept. 30, 2023, death of Van Wert resident Roy Watts, 54, who was was found dead following an incident at his residence on South Vine Street in Van Wert. The death was initially deemed “suspicious,” and an autopsy performed by the Lucas County Coroner’s Office ruled Watts’ death was the result of a homicide. A subsequent investigation led police to believe that Andrus, 48, may have contributed to Watts’ death.
A grand jury returned indictments against the Van Wert resident on Nov. 2, 2023, for murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, strangulation and felonious assault. Andrus was arrested at a bus station in Dade County, Florida, a few days later and was transported to the Van Wert County jail.
