Kettering police and county prosecutors have moved forward with charges after human remains connected to a missing woman were recovered from a property on Mini Court following a multi-hour police operation in June 2025.
Arraignment and charges
On Tuesday, Sept. 1, a 41-year-old local man, Shane Smith, was arraigned in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. Bond was set at $750,000.
Smith faces:
- 13 counts of gross abuse of a corpse
- 7 counts of tampering with evidence
The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office also presented more serious charges, including murder and felonious assault, but a grand jury declined to indict Smith on those counts.
How investigators say the remains were found
Kettering police say the woman, identified by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office as Nicole Slusser, had been reported missing on 2 June 2025. Police said there initially was insufficient evidence to confirm at that time that she was missing; further information received a week later led investigators to list her as a missing person.
A planned attempt to serve warrants at the Mini Court property on the morning of 17 June 2025 escalated into a prolonged standoff. Police and SWAT crews used chemical munitions and drones while trying to locate and detain the suspect.
“The house had hoarding conditions, which made it difficult for detectives to locate Smith,”
said Kettering police chief Christopher “Chip” Protsman. Officers eventually found Smith inside a closet at about 6pm and took him into custody after a second search that day.
When detectives returned to the house the following day, 18 June 2025, they recovered human remains from the property’s backyard. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office later confirmed the remains were those of Nicole Slusser in October 2025 and listed the cause and manner of death as undetermined.
Local consequences and unanswered questions
The case has raised questions for the Kettering community about how the missing-person report was handled in early June and how events escalated at the Mini Court address. The grand jury’s decision not to indict on murder and felonious assault charges means prosecutors will proceed solely on the counts returned against Smith at this stage.
Police officials have described logistical challenges during the operation due to the condition of the home. The use of chemical munitions and drones points to the complexity of the response, and the coroner’s undetermined finding leaves the precise circumstances of Slusser’s death unresolved.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 June 2025 | Nicole Slusser reported missing |
| 17 June 2025 | SWAT operation to serve warrants; standoff at Mini Court; suspect located and arrested |
| 18 June 2025 | Human remains recovered from backyard of Mini Court home |
| October 2025 | Coroner confirms remains as Nicole Slusser; cause and manner undetermined |
| 1 Sept. 2026 | Arraignment of Shane Smith; bond set at $750,000 |
Residents on Mini Court and nearby streets were affected by the police response in June, and the case remains sensitive in the local area. Community members have expressed concern and a desire for clarity on the sequence of events that led from the missing-person report to the discovery of remains.
What happens next
Smith will remain subject to the court process in Montgomery County. The charges he faces for abuse of a corpse and evidence tampering carry significant penalties if proven. The grand jury’s decision not to return indictments on murder and felonious assault means prosecutors will need to determine whether further investigative steps or additional evidence could alter the nature of the case.
For now, local police and the coroner’s findings form the public record: remains recovered from the Mini Court property were confirmed as those of Nicole Slusser, and the cause and manner of death remain undetermined.
