One person dead following machete attack while on motorcycle in Ohio

OHIO — A woman is dead and a Camden man faces murder charges after a violent machete attack in Preble County.

The Preble County Sheriff’s Office said 41-year-old Leigha Huff of Middletown was killed on Sunday, June 22, after being struck with a machete while riding as a passenger on a motorcycle near the 7700 block of Upper Somers Road, outside Camden.

Deputies were called to a home in the 3700 block of Aukerman Creek Road at approximately 10:32 p.m. after reports of a woman with a severe leg laceration who was bleeding heavily. Huff was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators determined Huff had been riding on a motorcycle headed toward Eaton when a man standing in a driveway allegedly struck her with an object as the bike passed by. The motorcycle driver took Huff to a friend’s home, where 911 was called.

Authorities later learned the Preble County 911 Dispatch Center had received a non-emergency call five minutes earlier, at 10:27 p.m., from a woman at the same Upper Somers Road address.

The caller reported that her ex-boyfriend was riding a motorcycle up and down the road trying to get her to come outside, and that her father was outside during the incident.

According to the sheriff’s office, Huff and the motorcycle driver were not connected to the original complaint. Deputies later confirmed Huff had been struck with a machete.

A search warrant was executed at the property, and the suspected weapon was recovered.

Deputies arrested 59-year-old Kenneth Brabant, the father of the original caller, and booked him into the Preble County Jail. On June 25, Brabant was formally charged in Eaton Municipal Court with:

• Two counts of Murder (unclassified felonies)
• Two counts of Felonious Assault (second-degree felonies)
• Tampering with Evidence (third-degree felony)
• Attempt to Commit an Offense (first-degree felony)

Brabant remains in custody pending his court appearance. The investigation is ongoing.