OHIO – A 20-year-old Ohio man has been indicted on aggravated murder charges after investigators determined his teenage girlfriend didn’t shoot herself, as he claimed, but was actually murdered.
Ezekiel Ananias James was indicted on January 14 in the December 6 death of Haiden Babiuch, 18. He faces one count of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, and one count of felonious assault.
When police first responded to the scene, James told detectives that Babiuch had shot herself. He claimed she was distraught because “she was worried he was going to leave her because she cheated on him while he was in jail.”
James admitted to investigators that he brought the gun into their shared home but insisted he didn’t know how Babiuch would have found it. He maintained her death was a suicide.
But the medical examiner’s findings told a different story. After examining the evidence, the coroner ruled Babiuch’s death a homicide, not a suicide as James had claimed.
The timing of the killing raised additional red flags for investigators. James had been released from jail less than a week before Babiuch was found dead. He’d been serving time on prior weapons and evidence-tampering charges.
Despite the suspicious circumstances, James was initially released from custody while investigators continued building their case. It took nearly six weeks before the grand jury handed down the indictment.
James now faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted on the aggravated murder charge. His arraignment date has not yet been announced.
