Man charged with killing his ex-girlfriend in 2015 while her kids were at school

Authorities in Ohio have brought charges against a man in connection with the 2015 killing of his ex-girlfriend at her home. The incident happened while the victim’s children were at school.

According to WHIO-TV, the charges against Thomas Albert for Candance Prunty’s fatal shooting comes after investigators initially had issues piecing together evidence. It subsequently became a cold case and remained so until Albert’s recent indictment on Monday.

The accused has been charged with aggravated murder, murder, tampering with evidence, and having a weapon under disability. Prunty, 26, was found dead in October 2015 with bullet wounds in her head and neck, the Springfield News-Sun reported. The deceased mother’s body was found by family members who had gone to her home to check up on her after she failed to pick up her three sons from school. The minors were aged 1, 4, and 7 when their mother was killed.

In an interview with WHIO-TV in 2018, Prunty’s family said the victim had come out of a relationship some months prior to her killing. And though authorities had listed Albert as a person of interest, they had difficulties linking him to her death. But that recently changed as a result of technological advancement.

“What happened was, cellphone technology and electronics evolved – the technology evolves rapidly just about every day. Early on in the investigation, we obtained information but again with the advancements in technology, we were able to see things now and paint a clearer picture of what happened back in 2015,” Springfield police Detective Ronald Jordan said.

Investigators said they believe Prunty’s murder was fuelled by Albert taking issue with the victim breaking up with him. The two had been dating for a few months prior to Prunty’s decision to part ways.

“Yeah, that’s what we’ve gathered during the course of this investigation. Again, this individual was upset. He wanted to be with her, she didn’t want to be with him. She tried to pull away and end the relationship but he didn’t want to do that,” said Jordan.

“When we arrived at the scene, the injuries that we saw, the nature of this crime led us to believe that it was something personal. Someone was very upset over something and essentially took it out on our victim.”

Albert is already serving time in an Ohio prison after he was found guilty of attempted murder in 2018. And though he is eligible for parole in 2045, he could end up being locked up behind bars for life if he’s convicted for Prunty’s killing.

Prunty’s mother, Patricia Beard, reacted to Albert’s indictment with mixed feelings. “And when they speak of closure, I don’t know if that’s the word that I would want to use. Because even if he is in prison for the rest of his life, it will never bring my daughter back,” she said.

“But for this moment and this information that he has been charged, justice is finally going to be brought to this family. And it means I can’t even – the word – I can’t even search for the word that we are feeling. Overjoyed. A lot of tears. A lot of hugs.”