Law enforcement authorities on Friday arrested a Kentucky man for his involvement in a brutal torutre and murder case that occured in Louisville last September.
Daniel E. Rosselot, 36, of Maysville was allegedly involved in the torture and killing of 35-year-old Jeremy Lind in the 1400 block of Clara Avenue in the Taylor Berry neighborhood.
According to police reports, Lind and his girlfriend were kidnapped at gunpoint at 1 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 27, 2020. The suspect, who was accompanied by two people, forced the victims to strip naked and eat dog food.
Brutal Crime
At one point, the suspects cut off Lind's tongue and subjected him to brutal torture. Rosselot and his accomplices also wrapped the severed tongue in foil, shoved it into the victim's mouth, and watched as he choked to death, as reported by Crime Online.
Lind's girlfriend, whose identity was not released by the police department, was forced to watch the torture and murder. She was also forced to clean up her boyfriend's blood following his death.
According to police reports, the suspects kept Lind's girlfriend alive with the aim of selling her to human traffickers. However, she escaped later that day. The suspects hid Lind's body in a shed before dumping it into an alley behind Lentz Avenue where police found it three days later.
It is unclear what the motive for the crime is. However, the couple had stolen items out of a vehicle a few days before the murder, according to WDRB.
In a citation, Rosselot has admitted to holding the victims against their will. He also admitted to striking the victim using a weapon, as well as wrapping Lind's corpse with a tarp with the help of an accomplice.
Rosselot has been charged with complicity to murder, two counts of complicity to first-degree unlawful imprisonment, complicity to abuse of a corpse, and complicity to tampering with physical evidence. He has since pleaded not guilty and was appointed a public defender, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
Another Torture
In January, police officials have arrested Robert Lee Smothers, 40, and Samantha Lee Johnson, 32, in connection to the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Lind. However, Jefferson District Judge Jennifer Wilcox in March dropped all charges against the suspect, noting that they no longer believe he was accomplice in the brutal slaying, as reported by the Courier Journal.
Darren Wolff, Smother's appointed counsel, said his client was identified by two witnesses as the perpetrator of the crime. But it was later discovered that law enforcement officers only showed the witnesses a single photograph of Smother, instead of an array of photos.
Police officers later arrested James Douglas Branham, 39, who admitted that he was paid to kidnap and torture the victims.
Rosselot's two accomplices are expected to face similar charges, including complicity to abuse of a corpse, complicity to second-degree assault and complicity to tampering with physical evidence.
Johnson and Branham were held on a $1 million bond. Both suspects are set to have pretrial hearings on August 2. Rosselot, who was granted a $25,000 bond, is expected to be back in court on July 26.
