Man gets 22 years to life in murder of friend whose body was found under debris in garage

A badly decomposing body found under debris in the detached garage of a Burkhardt Avenue house on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, was later identified as 44-year-old CJ Pierce of Dayton, who was reported missing in July. MARSHALL GORBY / STAFF

Credit: Marshall Gorby

Credit: Marshall Gorby

A badly decomposing body found under debris in the detached garage of a Burkhardt Avenue house on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, was later identified as 44-year-old CJ Pierce of Dayton, who was reported missing in July. MARSHALL GORBY / STAFF
Crime & Law
By
May 2, 2023
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A Dayton man found guilty of the murder of his longtime friend whose badly decomposing body was found hidden under debris in a detached garage may spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Jeremy Heath Van Voorhis, 48, was sentenced Wednesday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to 22 years to life in prison in the death of 44-year-old Clinton James “CJ” Pierce, who was shot in the back of his head on or around July 15, 2022.

Jeremy Van Voorhis

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

icon to expand image

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

“Van Voorhis then hid Pierce’s body under multiple layers of flooring materials and other items in a detached garage,” an affidavit filed in Dayton Municipal Court stated.

A jury in March found him guilty as charged to two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault and one count each of gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

Dayton police responded Aug. 18 to a house in the 400 block of Burkhardt Avenue after Pierce’s fiancée reported a foul odor coming from the garage off an alley. Inside, officers found the body later identified as Pierce.

He had been reported missing in July and is survived by his parents, sister, fiancée, three children and one granddaughter, according to his obituary.

Dayton police issued an arrest warrant for Van Voorhis, who fled in his vehicle when Allen County Sheriff’s deputies tried to detain him near Lima. He was apprehended following a high-speed pursuit through Allen and Auglaize counties before he finally stopped and surrendered on a rural county road near Anna in Shelby County.

Van Voorhis was indicted in Allen County for one felony count of failure to comply with an order or signal of police officer. He was convicted after he pleaded guilty April 11 and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15, court records show.

A badly decomposing body found under debris in the detached garage of a Burkhardt Avenue house on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, was later identified as 44-year-old CJ Pierce of Dayton, who was reported missing in July. MARSHALL GORBY / STAFF

Credit: Marshall Gorby

icon to expand image

Credit: Marshall Gorby

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Jen Roppel Balduf covers breaking news for the Dayton Daily News. She earned a bachelor of science in journalism degree from Ohio University and also writes for the Journal-News, Springfield News-Sun and Dayton.com.