Left inset: Eric Ward (Franklin County Clerk of Courts). Right inset: Allyson Lorenz (Ohio Attorney General). Background: The 1800 block of Bashan Drive in Columbus, Ohio, where Eric Ward committed the murder and dismemberment of Allyson Lorenz in 2021 (Google Maps).
This week, an Ohio man was found guilty of aggravated murder, gross abuse of a corpse, and other charges, after he “savagely beat” and murdered a woman over three days, subsequently dismembering her body with an ax and “shears,” prosecutors stated.
Eric Ward, age 36, was convicted on Monday after a trial in Franklin County concerning the 2021 murder of 32-year-old Allyson Lorenz, whom he killed using a “wet wash cloth,” as detailed in court records.
Prosecutors reported that Ward “savagely assaulted” Lorenz, with whom he had a “romantic relationship,” at her residence, and then covered her mouth with the cloth while she experienced “agonal breathing” after being thrown down and beaten by Ward. Another woman, named Heather Baker, who testified against Ward, assisted him in dismembering Lorenz’s body after enduring an assault herself.
“Between September 25, 2021, and September 27, 2021, the defendant brutally beat Ms. Lorenz in her own home until she died from her injuries,” prosecutors mentioned in a November 2023 statement.
“To erase the evidence of his crimes, the defendant chose to dismember Ms. Lorenz’s body and dispose of the remains,” the statement detailed. “He escorted Ms. Baker to a hardware store to acquire an ax, shears, and cleaning materials. Heather Baker acquired a storage unit at the U-Haul storage facility located at 2189 Eakin Road, Columbus, Ohio.”
Authorities said they learned of Ward’s actions while investigating him for selling drugs, with a related search of a home he used and the discovery of a storage unit receipt leading cops to Lorenz’s body and the supplies used to dismember her. Ward “exercised control” over the woman through physical and mental abuse and “controlled access to narcotics,” according to prosecutors.
“Upon speaking with residents of the area, detectives obtained information that a male and female hauled away several black plastic bags from the house the day before,” the 2023 filing said, noting how Ward and the other woman were both identified.
Ward and Baker are said to have conducted “numerous” web searches regarding DNA evidence and blood after Lorenz’s death.
“Defendant and Baker then drove to a home department store and purchased a Kobalt ax and Corona shears,” the prosecutors said.
Police discovered Lorenz’s body on Sept. 29, 2021, inside of a garage at the home out of which Ward was reportedly selling drugs. The officers were investigating her involvement with his suspected drug activity.
“Detectives observed the plastic on the walls and the dismembered corpse,” prosecutors said in a May 2023 filing. “Alongside her dismember[ed] corpse was a Blue Kobalt ax and Corona shears.”
Ward’s conviction marks the end of the second trial he was given for Lorenz’s death after a juror reported being threatened by someone over the case during his first trial, which began on July 14, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Baker pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.
