2 bodies found in minivan; man arrested

Within hours after a dead couple was found in a parked minivan in a Hilltop neighborhood Sunday afternoon, Columbus police detectives had charged a man in their beating deaths.

John H. Jordan Jr., 54, who lived in the 300 block of South Powell Avenue on the Hilltop, was in the Franklin County Jail on Sunday night, charged with two counts of murder.

The victims were identified as Ryan Fuller and his girlfriend, Mikayla Sotherland, according to an affidavit in Franklin County Jordan Jr. Municipal Court. The last known address for Sotherland, 20, was in Gahanna. Fuller's age and address were unavailable.

It is believed that Jordan was involved in a fight with Fuller in the 2800 block of Fremont Street on the Hilltop on Oct. 27. Jordan inflicted fatal wounds with an unidentified object, according to court records.

Sotherland tried to intervene, and Jordan fatally injured her with the same object, the court records say.

Jordan is believed to have put the bodies in a 2005 white Dodge Caravan, according to the court records.

At 11:50 a.m. Sunday, Columbus police patrol officers were advised to be on the lookout for the Dodge Caravan in the Hilltop neighborhood. Patrol officers found it parked in the 100 block of South Harris Avenue around 1:20 p.m., and they found the bodies inside. Shortly afterward, police detained Jordan.

Although police identified the two victims as Fuller and Sotherland in court documents, positive identifications have to be confirmed by the Franklin County coroner's office. Autopsies are to be performed Monday, police said in a press release.

Jordan is scheduled to make his first appearance in Franklin County Municipal Court at 9 a.m. Monday.