Man accused of stabbing Springfield grad, putting her body in dumpster wants statements tossed

Terrel Ross

Credit: MONTGOMERY COUNTY JAIL

Credit: MONTGOMERY COUNTY JAIL

Terrel Ross

A new court date has been set in a case against a man accused of stabbing a Springfield High School graduate to death and putting her body in a dumpster.

Terrel Ross, 37, is now due in court Nov. 30 for a motion to suppress hearing. He previously was due in court July 9 for the hearing, but that was canceled after Ross was quarantined in the Montgomery County Jail in connection to the COVID-19 virus, court records say.

Ross allegedly told police that he killed his girlfriend, 24-year-old Sierra Woodfork, on Jan. 12 and first placed her in a closet and then inside the refrigerator in her Kettering apartment before moving her body to the dumpster in back. Kettering police responded Jan. 18 to an apartment building on Aberdeen Avenue after her body was discovered in the dumpster, prosecutors said.

Ross is being held on $1 million bond at the Montgomery County Jail.

Sierra Woodfork

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In the motion to suppress filed in April, the defense asks the judge to disallow Ross' statements to police from court.

“Defendant contends that he was in custody when he was questioned and should have been issued his Miranda warnings,” the motion says. “Defendant also contends that he did not voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently waive his rights when answering questions. Defendant also contends that his statements were the product of coercion, overreaching or promises.”

The case is being heard by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Steven Dankof.

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