TWO MEN INDICTED IN CONNECTION TO MURDER OF LANDLORD AND SETTING HIS BODY ON FIRE TO AVOID PAYMENT OF RENT

Posted on 6/8/2016

Defendant: Maurice E. Watkins and Pierre C. Williams

Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said, “These two men face substantial prison sentences for their decision to murder their landlord who tried to collect their rent.”  Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien today indicted Maurice E. Watkins, age 33, for the Aggravated Murder of his landlord, Joseph P. Remlinger, age 50.  Watkins shot and killed Remlinger at Watkins’ residence on Grasmere Avenue on June 2, 2016 to avoid eviction from the property owned by Remlinger.  After Watkins shot and killed Remlinger, he drove the victim’s vehicle with the victim’s body inside to a garage on Lilley Avenue where he and Pierre C. Williams, age 26, set fire to the vehicle.  The vehicle and garage were burned and a nearby home was damaged by the fire.  Watkins was arrested a few hours later, still in possession of a firearm, and Williams was arrested when he sought medical treatment for burns resulting from his assistance in setting the fire.  Watkins was indicted for Aggravated Murder, Murder, Aggravated Arson, Arson, Tampering with Evidence, Gross Abuse of a Corpse and Having a Weapon under Disability.  Williams was indicted for Aggravated Arson, Arson, Tampering with Evidence and Gross Abuse of a Corpse.  Arraignment for Watkins and Williams is set for this Friday, June 10th at 1:30 pm in courtroom 2B at 345 S. High Street in downtown Columbus.