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LISBON -- The indictment issued Thursday afternoon against Christopher Morrison Sr. for allegedly killing his wife, Tiffany, 34, last month includes a charge of gross abuse of a corpse besides aggravated murder and other charges.
Columbiana County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino and Liverpool Township Police Chief Jared Kinemond announced the indictment shortly after a special session of the January county grand jury reported out.
Morrison, 34, Shadyside Road, East Liverpool, is now facing charges of aggravated murder and murder, both unclassified felonies, fifth-degree felonies of gross abuse of a corpse and possessing criminal tools, two counts of third-degree felony tampering with evidence, along with two three-year firearm specifications for allegedly using a gun.
Morrison remains jailed at the county jail under a $1.5 million cash or surety bond, which is where he's been since his arrest Dec. 20 when police discovered Tiffany's remains in a shed on their Liverpool Township property on Shadyside Road. He was suspected of shooting her to death inside their home, then moving her remains to the outdoor shed.
According to the indictment, on or about Dec. 20, Morrison allegedly did "treat a human corpse in a way that would outrage reasonable community sensibilities."
On Dec. 18, he allegedly "did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the death of Tiffany Morrison" and also purposely caused her death.
The tampering with evidence charges stem from Dec. 18 to Dec. 20 and the possessing criminal tools charge stems from Dec. 20 for having a devise with the purpose to use it criminally.
When contacted about the indictment, Abruzzino didn't want to go into too much detail about the new charges in consideration for the minor children involved here. The Morrisons had three children who are now in the custody of a relative.
Regarding the tampering with evidence charges, he did say that Morrison "took affirmative steps to cover up his crime."
Morrison allegedly moved the remains and took steps to alter the crime scene inside the house, according to Abruzzino and the theory investigators have regarding what happened based on what they found.
"He used a tool to commit further felony offenses," Abruzzino said without going into detail.
If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Arraignment is expected to be held on Feb. 1 in county Common Pleas Court.
"We continue to see an upsetting trend of violent crime in the county. We're doing everything we can to make sure those offenders are held accountable," Abruzzino said.
In this particular case, he said "we're going to do our absolute best to make sure he's held accountable for his crimes."
In the press release announcing the indictment, Abruzzino and Kinemond credited the work of their respective agencies, the Columbiana County Major Crimes Task Force, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Columbiana County Coroner's Office, and the county Sheriff's Office Special Response Team for their investigative work in this case.
Morrison had first been charged in Columbiana County Municipal Court for murder, then his case was bound over for consideration by the county grand jury
According to an affidavit filed by Sergeant Detective Robert Ramsey of the Liverpool Township Police Department, Morrison allegedly admitted to a close friend that he shot his wife and then her remains were moved to a shed.
Ramsey wrote that through the investigation, he learned "that although they were experiencing difficulties in their marital relationship," Christopher and Tiffany Morrison resided together at that residence. Further investigation revealed that Tiffany Morrison had last been seen on Monday, Dec. 18.
mgreier@mojonews.com