Logan , Ohio

A newly unsealed confession shows a woman told authorities her son accidentally strangled his estranged wife before his parents helped hide the body in a southeast Ohio septic tank.

Sandra Inman told an investigator in 2011 she wanted to see her grandchildren more, so she and her husband and son forced her daughter-in-law, Summer, into a car in Logan to discuss the issue. Inman said her son bound his wife's wrists with plastic zip ties and unintentionally strangled her with one around the neck.

Inman said they panicked and hid the body. A week later, Inman told authorities where it was.

Inman pleaded guilty to murder and other charges and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Her husband and son were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

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The man accused of strangling his daughter-in-law and dumping her body in a septic tank learned his fate Monday night.

A jury found William Inman guilty of aggravated murder in connection with the death of Summer Inman. In 2011, Inman was strangled with a zip tie and put in a septic tank.

Prosecutors believe William Inman helped in the murder to help his son gain custody of their three children.

Inman's wife and son were also convicted in the murder.


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A jury will begin deliberating in the Ohio trial of a man charged with murder and other crimes in the slaying of his daughter-in-law, who was strangled with a zip tie and dumped in a septic tank.

Closing arguments wrapped up Monday in Chillicothe in the trial of William Inman, 48. He is accused in the March 2011 murder of Summer Inman, 25. A court official said the case would go to the jury Monday afternoon.

Prosecutors said Inman was complicit in the plot to murder Summer Inman for custody of her three children by Inman's son.

Inman's attorney argued the elder Inman didn't kill her. He said Inman and his wife helped kidnap her in Logan and tried to cover up for their son.

Inman's son and wife were convicted in the murder.

Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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A trial has begun for an Ohio man charged with aggravated murder and other crimes in the slaying of his daughter-in-law, who was strangled with a zip tie and dumped in a septic tank.

The prosecutor told jurors Monday in Chillicothe it's reasonable to infer William Inman, 48, murdered his daughter-in-law, Summer, 25. The prosecutor said Inman ruled the family and wanted to help his son, who was in a child custody dispute with the woman.

Inman's attorney said it was his son, William Inman II, who killed her. The defense said the elder Inman and his wife helped kidnap their daughter-in-law in Logan to talk about concerns about the grandchildren and then tried to cover up their son's crime.

Inman's son and wife were convicted in the slaying.

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Jury selection is beginning in the trial of a southeast Ohio man accused of strangling his daughter-in-law with a zip tie and dumping her body in a septic tank.

The murder trial of William Inman was moved to Chillicothe after attempts to seat a jury in Hocking County were unsuccessful in September. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Inman's wife and son have already been convicted and sentenced to long prison terms in the March 2011 slaying of Summer Inman in Logan, about 45 miles southeast of Columbus.

Authorities allege that Summer Inman, 25, was killed because she had filed for divorce after six years of marriage and was seeking custody of the three children she had with William Inman II.

Just selection was scheduled to begin Thursday.

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The murder trial of a man charged in the slaying of his daughter-in-law, found strangled in a septic tank, has been moved to another southern Ohio county.

Hocking County Common Pleas Judge John Wallace said Tuesday that William Inman Sr.'s trial will be held in Chillicothe in Ross County.

Wallace earlier granted the change-of-venue motion by Inman's attorneys. Wallace said too many prospective jurors knew the facts of the case and had decided the question of Inman's guilt.

The 48-year-old Inman is charged with aggravated murder and other crimes in the March 2011 slaying of 25-year-old Summer Inman. He faces a possible death penalty if convicted.

Inman's wife and son were convicted earlier this year in the slaying. Chillicothe is about 40 miles southwest of Logan.

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The trial for a man charged in the death of his daughter-in-law will get a change of venue.

A judge ruled Wednesday to move William Inman’s case out of the Logan, Ohio, area because it’s so high profile. Inman is on trial for the murder of Summer Inman, 25. Her body was found in a septic tank in Logan in the spring of 2011. Inman’s wife and son have already been convicted in the slaying.

A new location for the trial has not been determined.

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A jury has convicted a man of aggravated murder and other charges in the death of his estranged wife, who was found strangled in a septic tank in southeast Ohio last year.

Hocking County jurors in Logan deliberated for about four hours before returning a verdict Tuesday in the trial of William Inman II, 27.

He could face the death penalty when he's sentenced. He and his parents are charged and being tried separately in the slaying of his wife Summer, who was just 25 years old.

Authorities say she was abducted in Logan, strangled with a zip tie and dumped in an underground septic tank behind a church in nearby Athens County in March of last year.

Inman's parents have pleaded not guilty. They'll be tried later this year.

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A young mother, kidnapped, killed and her body stuffed in a septic tank behind a church. Now her estranged husband, mother-in-law and father-in-law are facing charges in the crime.

A swarm of people packed the Hocking County courthouse in Ohio as the family accused in the crime made their first appearance.

"There will be justice and she will rest in peace," Misty Vanpelt, a friend of the victim said. "Those babies didn't deserve this, they'll never know their mommy."

Summer Inman, a 25-year-old mother of three, was last seen being forced into a car and kidnapped last Tuesday in the city of Logan, Ohio.

Then, a week later on March 29, Summer's body was found several miles away in Nelsonville in Athens County. Police say her body was stuffed in a septic tank behind a church. Investigators say she had a zip tie around her neck.

"They got the wrong guy," Summer's estranged husband William Inman II told Eyewitness News.

His father, William Inman, and his mother, Sandra Inman, have also been charged in the crime.

"I didn't do nothing," the older William Inman says.

While the men of the family say they didn't do it, Police say Sandra told police exactly where they could find her daughter-in-law's body. And she told Summer's side of the family in court that she was sorry.

"To (do that to) your grandbabies' mother and then turn around and say I'm sorry, there's no apology for that," Vanpelt says.

All three pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and abduction charges. Their bond was set at $1 million each.

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Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or distributed.