Troy man pleads guilty in murder where he cut off roommate’s thumb to use phone

Higgins pleaded guilty in Miami County Common Pleas Court to charges of murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence (two counts), theft and receiving stolen property in Ho’s death. Higgins will be sentenced Dec. 5.

Judge Stacy Wall said a sentencing hearing will be held to help determine if he will serve life in prison without parole, or without parole for 20, 25 or 30 years.

Before the plea, defense lawyer Jose Lopez said Higgins told him the first time they met following his arrest that he wanted to plead guilty. Lopez said he told Higgins he wanted to first ensure competency and sanity evaluations were conducted before a plea was offered.

Ho was reported missing April 14 by his roommates, including Higgins. His body was found later the following day in Indiana after Troy police said Higgins told them where the body had been left following the killing. Higgins was accused of cutting off Ho’s thumb following his death and using it to continue accessing Ho’s phone, police said.

A jury trial had been scheduled for Nov. 15-16 in Wall’s court. Higgins remains in the county jail in lieu of $1.5 million bail.