Tina Herrmann’s story – The Ohio triple murder case that stemmed from a burglary

In a burglary gone horribly wrong, Tina Herrmann was brutally murdered along with her friend, son, and dog in their home in Howard, Ohio. Their dismembered bodies were found in a 60-foot-tall hollow tree at Kokosing Wildlife Preserve in rural Knox County. The tree was later cut down by the authorities to prevent it from becoming a spectacle.

The triple murder took place in the fall of 2010 when a drifter Matthew Hoffman broke into Herrmann’s home to rob the place. But his plans took a sinister turn when the residents arrived and he resorted to the worst possible solution.

Tina Herrmann’s murderer Matthew Hoffman was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole

When 31-year-old Tina Herrmann and her 41-year-old friend Stephanie Sprang entered her home on November 10, 2010, they were confronted by Matthew Hoffman. He stabbed them to death and murdered the family dog, Tanner.

As he was dismembering the bodies in a bathtub, Hermann’s preteen children – Sarah and Kody Maynard – reached home from school.

Hoffman murdered Kody, who was 11 years old and kidnapped Sarah, who was 13 years old. He buried the dismembered bodies in a hollow tree and kept Sarah in his basement where he sexually assaulted her. The family was reported missing on November 11, 2010.

After a three-day search, the police apprehended Hoffman and rescued Sarah, who was found bound and gagged in his basement. They were able to track him following a Walmart receipt he left at the crime scene along with a recently purchased tarp and garbage bags.

Hoffman confessed to the crime and provided the location of the bodies. It also turned out that he had just been released from a Colorado prison after serving a term for burglary and arson. He pled guilty to all the charges and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in January 2011.

Hoffman is currently serving his sentence at the Toledo Correctional Institution, Ohio. He remains in single-cell protective custody where he is separated from the general prison population.

After everything, Sarah was sent to live with her father and stepmother in Franklin County. However, in 2013, they were charged with physically assaulting her – Sarah had been punched and kicked down a flight of stairs. With a restraining order against her father and stepmother, Sarah went to live with a relative.