JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio (WTRF) — A Jefferson County, Ohio grand jury has ordered three people involved in an alleged faked drowning in August to stand trial.
The order stems from a 911 call on August 25, where Breanna Watkins and Matthew Hunt claimed to have seen sex offender Richard Newlen fall into a lake at Friendship Park in Jefferson County.
Breanna Watkins
Matthew Hunt
Several law enforcement agencies and three dive teams responded to the scene within minutes of the call, in what authorities would later describe as “a ridiculous waste of time and resources.”
Sheriff Abdalla said law enforcement began to question the truthfulness of the 911 call based on diver information, re-listening to the 911 call, and evidence recovered from the scene.
The next day, Watkins and Hunt both admitted to lying; officials believed the story was concocted to help Newlen, who was convicted of sex crimes against children, avoid the police.
Twenty-eight-year-old Watkins and 43-year-old Hunt are to face trial on felony charges of inducing panic, making false alarms, and obstructing justice, along with a misdemeanor count of falsification.
Newlen, 40, is set to be tried on felony charges of tampering with evidence, inducing panic, and making false alarms.
Trial dates have not yet been set.