Murder suspect indicted

SANDUSKY — The man who allegedly killed and sexually assaulted a 3-year-old girl in September was indicted Friday by a grand jury. Devin S. O'Brien, 29, of the 4000 block of Venice Road (U.S. 6), was indicted by an Erie County grand jury Friday on the following charges, according to a grand jury report: • Four counts of aggravated murder, each an unclassified felony • Two counts of rape, each a first-degree felony • One count of attempted rape, a second-degree felony • One count of kidnapping, a first-degree felony • One count of felonious assault, a second-degree felony • One count of strangulation, a second-degree felony • One count of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony • One count of gross abuse of a corpse, a fifth-degree felony Sandusky police arrested O'Brien after he allegedly made a phone call to police the evening of Sept. 12 reporting that he believed that his "girlfriend's daughter and dog have been taken," he reportedly told a dispatcher. O'Brien was arrested by Sandusky police a short time later after they had found the girl's body and booked him into the Erie County Jail the following day. An autopsy was conducted on the girl's body the following morning by the Lucas County Coroner's Office. The autopsy found that the child died as a result of strangulation and experienced blunt force trauma and sexual assault, Sandusky police Chief Jared Oliver previously told the Register. As of Friday afternoon, O'Brien is still being held at the Erie County Jail on a $1 million bond. Fundraiser reaches goal Authorities have not identified the victim, citing victim's protection bill Marcy's Law. But in the form of online postings and a vigil hosted shortly after her death, others have identified the victim as Charlotte Willow Patterson. A GoFundMe campaign to assist Patterson's family raised nearly $6,900 as of Friday.