Auglaize County woman pleads guilty to 2022 killing of estranged husband

An Auglaize County woman has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in connection with the 2022 death of her estranged husband.

In January, Amanda Hovanec, 38, changed her plea to guilty on one count of aggravated murder. As part of the plea agreement, a separate charge of tampering with evidence was dismissed.

Prosecutors say Timothy Hovanec was killed in April 2022 as he dropped off the couple’s children at the rural Auglaize County home of Hovanec’s mother, Anita Green. Authorities allege that after Green took the children inside, Amanda Hovanec injected Timothy Hovanec with a drug using a needle, killing him.

Investigators say video and audio of the incident were captured by an in car camera.

Authorities also say South African resident Anthony Theodorou obtained the drug used in the killing and helped bury Timothy Hovanec’s body in a wooded area. Investigators said Theodorou also assisted with disposing of evidence tied to the case.

All three later pleaded guilty to federal charges connected to the murder and to bringing the drug used in the killing into the United States. Amanda Hovanec was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison. Theodorou was sentenced to 18 years. Green was sentenced to 10 years and one month after pleading guilty to accessory after the fact.

No sentencing date has been set yet for Amanda Hovanec in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court on the aggravated murder charge.

Green and Theodorou are each facing a charge of complicity to aggravated murder and are scheduled for a pretrial hearing March 13 in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court.