Two arrested in California for local slaying

A man and woman were arrested in San Diego last Friday in connection with the slaying of an 82-year-old Pickaway County woman.

Susan E. Stahl, 35, was charged with murder and aggravated burglary, and Anthony R. Martin, 30, was charged with obstructing justice, the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday. The two had been living in Shelby County in western Ohio.

Joyce A. Kaelbli was found dead in her home in the 10000 block of Ballah Road in rural Darby Township shortly before 4:38 p.m. June 23. Her son, Glenn Kaelbli, said he had gone to check on her and found her beaten on the living room floor. An autopsy conducted the following day confirmed that Joyce Kaelbli had been beaten, Pickaway County Coroner John Ellis previously told The Dispatch.

Stahl and Glenn Kaelbli had dated for several months prior to the murder. When interviewing family members following Kaelbli’s death, Pickaway County Sheriff Robert Radcliff said Stahl’s name came up.

Once the sheriff’s office obtained DNA evidence linking Stahl to the crime scene, arrest warrants were issued last Friday. Investigators began attempting to locate Stahl and Martin, who are currently dating, and were able to follow transactions the couple made leading to San Diego, Radcliff said.

Martin was charged with obstructing justice for helping Stahl flee to San Diego. They had been in San Diego near the area of a U.S.Mexico border crossing for several days before being arrested, Radcliff said.

“We can’t say if they were going to flee (the country) or not,” Radcliff said. “But that was our concern, once we knew where they were.”

After calling the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and giving them a location of where they thought Stahl and Martin might be, Radcliff said the suspects were arrested “within probably an hour.” The U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force was also involved in making the arrests.

Stahl and Martin appeared in court in San Diego on Saturday for extradition hearings and returned to Pickaway County on Wednesday.

Stahl and Martin are due in Circleville Municipal Court at 10 a.m. Friday.

The case is still under investigation, and anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office at 1-800-472-6022 or 740-477-6000.