Bonham charged with murder in deaths of mom, girlfriend

MOUNT VERNON — Travis Bonham has been charged with murder in Knox County.

Bonham, 31, had been a suspect in the deaths of his mother, 50-year-old Sandra Stelk, and girlfriend, 23-year-old Jaime Barber. The women's bodies were located inside Stelk's Coshocton Road home Sept. 30.

Mount Vernon Municipal Court records show two counts of murder and one count each of having weapons under disability, tampering with evidence and grand theft of a firearm were filed Thursday morning.

Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville said in a press release Bonham reportedly confessed to the shooting deaths of the two women while "high on bath salts."

McConville said Bonham was not legally allowed to carry a firearm because of his prior felony convictions. The tampering with evidence charge is related to the destruction of a cell phone Bonham was carrying after the killings.

McConville said in the release police had been pinging the phone to try to locate Bonham.

Bonham was indicted earlier this week on one count of grand theft. He is being held on a $50,000 bond on that charge.

Bonham is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing on the new charges Friday afternoon.

McConville said the murder charges were not legally able to be charged as aggravated murder because the necessary factors were not present.

"Under Ohio law, to prove an aggravated murder charge, the State must prove that the killings were premeditated, or committed in conjunction with a list of other aggravating felonies,” he said. “Based upon what has been learned during the investigation, those factors don’t exist in this case."

Each murder charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years to life with an additional three years for a firearm specification if Bonham is convicted.

If Bonham is convicted on every charge and sentenced to consecutive sentences, he would receive an indefinite sentence of 45 years to life in prison, McConville said.

After Friday's bond hearing, the case will be prepared for a special session of the Knox County grand jury to seek an indictment on the new charges, McConville said.