Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Woman pleads guilty in overdose death of Zanesville man
A 28-year-old Guernsey County woman pleaded guilty to her part in a Zanesville man’s overdose death last month.
On Monday, Shelbie Mourer pleaded guilty to one first-degree felony count of involuntary manslaughter, one fifth-degree felony count of trafficking a fentanyl-related compound and one third-degree felony count of tampering with evidence.
Mourer’s pleas of guilty to a prosecutor’s bill of information are an acceptance of responsibility to the death of 44-year-old Robert “Andy” Marshall.
According to detectives from the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office, Marshall did not show up to work on Sept. 10 and did not return to his parents’ home that evening as usual. Using location tracking services through Apple to find their son, Marshall’s parents traced his phone’s last known location to the vicinity of a dumpster at the West Pike Super 8 motel. The phone was not recovered at the location, and it was determined that it had either been turned off or the battery died.
After spending the evening contacting Marshall’s friends and girlfriend, his parents reported Marshall missing early the next morning. By 11 a.m., Marshall’s body was found in the beach access parking lot of Dillon State Park. Drug abuse materials were also located inside Marshall’s car. The Muskingum County Coroner was unable to determine any signs of trauma and took a mouth swab for a toxicology test.
Marshall was lying in the backseat of his car with his shoes on the passenger seat floor. The driver’s seat was in the forwardmost position, too close to the dashboard for a man of Marshall’s size to fit.
Witness statements placed a woman with Marshall leading up to his death. Phone records investigated by detectives determined Marshall recently transferred money to Shelbie Mourer for a total of $120 over four transactions.
Using search warrants, Detective Brady Hittle of the Muskingum County Sheriff's Office traced Mourer’s phone to places where Marshall was known to be.
Mourer was located and interviewed on Sept. 15.
She admitted to providing crack cocaine to Marshall in exchange for the Cash App payments. Mourer further admitted that she obtained the drugs from another dealer.
Mourer told detectives that she met Marshall at the motel and provided him the drugs and materials needed to smoke crack. Mourer and Marshall then drove separately to Dillon State Park where Marshall began to overdose in his car. Mourer admitted to packing up her belongings and leaving Marshall behind.
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