Background: News footage of the house in Alliance, Ohio, where Ashley Ross was found dead on May 13 (WOIO). Inset: Robert Andre Ross (West Virginia Department of Corrections).
Robert Andre Ross, 49, was taken into custody by police in Monongalia County, West Virginia, on Wednesday. This arrest came just hours after Ohio authorities alleged that he had killed his wife, Ashley Ross. According to the City of Alliance Police Department, Ashley Ross’s lifeless body was discovered in her bedroom by her two children on Wednesday morning. The children, in distress, called 911, prompting an investigation that quickly identified her death as a homicide.
A warrant was swiftly issued for Robert Ross’s arrest on a charge of murder.
While specific details regarding the circumstances of Ashley Ross’s death have not been disclosed, Alliance Police Chief Aken-Ra X informed the local CBS affiliate WOIO that officers at the scene deemed it “obvious” that she had been murdered. Although the children’s ages weren’t revealed, they were described as juveniles. Following the tragic discovery, the children were taken into the care of relatives who arrived at the scene.
Authorities reported that Robert Ross emerged as a suspect “early in the investigation.” Collaboration between local law enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force led to the identification of his vehicle through a license plate reader. This technology pinpointed his location in Morgantown, West Virginia, where local officers conducted a traffic stop and successfully apprehended him.
Police said Robert Ross became a suspect “early in the investigation.” Local law enforcement teamed up with the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force and were able to find his vehicle from a license plate reader. Authorities were alerted to his location in Morgantown, West Virginia, and local law enforcement initiated a traffic stop after finding Robert Ross.
The suspect was arrested without incident. Robert Ross is still in custody in West Virginia and will be extradited to Stark County, Ohio. He has not yet been formally charged.
