INDIANAPOLIS – Samuel Shamansky, the lawyer for Tyler Thomas, revealed to FOX59/CBS4 on Monday that Thomas led FBI officials to the remains of 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee on Sunday evening.
This comes after Thomas had an initial court hearing in Franklin County Court in Ohio on Monday morning. Shamansky said that Buzbee’s remains was located in Perry County, which is southeast of Columbus.
Shamansky told FOX59/CBS4 that the FBI picked Thomas up on Sunday from the Franklin County Jail in Ohio and Thomas led officials to the location of Buzbee’s remains.
Buzbee, a Fishers teen who was believed by law enforcement to be dead, left her Fishers home on Jan. 5 and was later considered an “endangered missing juvenile.”
According to previous reports, Thomas was booked into jail on the following preliminary charges:
One count of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor – create/produce material, a Level 2 felony
One count of tampering with evidence – alter/destroy/conceal/remove record, a Level 3 felony
Shamansky said he believes Thomas will be charged with murder in Hocking County.
On Sunday, officials identified Thomas as an individual who was involved in Buzbee’s disappearance. According to previous reports, law enforcement identified an unknown vehicle in the Fishers neighborhood the night that Buzbee went missing, one that was later linked to Thomas.
Thomas later told law enforcement that he picked Buzbee up from the Fishers home. Court documents later revealed that Thomas reportedly took Buzbee to a Columbus home.
After a search warrant was conducted, law enforcement officials allegedly found videos of Buzbee that were sexual in nature and recorded in the home. Previous reports indicate that Thomas attempted to delete the videos.
During Monday’s arraignment hearing, court officials determined that Thomas will be held on a $1.5 million cash surety bond. If Thomas posts bond, he will not be allowed to have contact with the victim’s family, no internet usage, no possession of firearms, no drug/alcohol use and no unsupervised contact with minors.
As of this story’s publication, Thomas has not yet officially been charged with murder or any similar counts.
