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On February 4, 2019, James Rinehart Jr. murdered three people in rural Ross County, Ohio - Leann Potts, Thomas Littler, and Rick Adams. For this, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison, and is still serving his sentence at the London Correctional Institution in Union Township, Madison County.
Leann, 46, and Thomas, 63, received a marriage license in January 2019, according to court records. Friends reported that the couple had been planning a Caribbean getaway before their wedding, but had not yet set a definite date. The couple's preparations, however, ended in tragedy on February 4, 2019, when they were fatally shot at Tom's house on Bowman Lane.
50-year-old Rick Adams, on the other hand, resided in a mobile home located on Vigo Road in remote Ross County, five miles from Tom's property. He was shot and beaten while with his girlfriend Tammy Potts-Williams.
Tammy recovered from her injuries after spending weeks at the OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, but Rick passed away from his wounds on February 5. Due to the fact that Rick and Leann are biological siblings, the two murders turned out to be related.
ID's The Murder Tapes' upcoming episode, which premieres on October 3, 2023, at 9 p.m. ET will revisit the shocking 2019 triple homicide. The official synopsis of the episode, as per Rotten Tomatoes, reads:
"In separate calls, Chillicothe, Ohio, police officers find three murder victims and another clinging to life; as they investigate these crimes, they discover the victims are related; detectives question suspects, which leads to an unlikely killer."
"He wasn't getting away today": How James Rinehart Jr. was arrested because of a Burger King cashier
The diligent efforts of workers at a neighboring fast-food restaurant meant that authorities did not have to search for Rinehart for very long because he was apprehended the following day. Police said that the quick and shrewd efforts of the nearby Burger King staff ultimately resulted in the capture of the offender.
It was revealed that on February 5, a day after the triple homicides in Londonderry, James Rinehart tried to use one of the victim's credit cards at the restaurant's drive-thru. The name on the card was recognized by the restaurant's cashier as being that of Leann.
Rinehart was then asked to enter the business, and the cashier immediately called the police. Later, in a police interview, she claimed:
"He wasn’t getting away today even if I had to tackle him. When I walked up front, I looked at the credit card. I said, ‘Oh hell, no, this lady was just murdered.’ I said, ‘Sir, I’m sorry, I have to get your gift card. I’m sorry, I need to get a pen. I’m sorry, I just spilled all your milkshake.'"
James Rinehart was charged with three capital murder charges, in addition to 16 other felonies, including aggravated murder, kidnapping, and r*pe. In October 2020, his murder trial was scheduled to start. On September 23, however, he pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated murder and one act of attempted murder.
In exchange, the 16-count indictment's remaining charges, including the repeat violent offender requirements connected to the attempted murder charge, were all withdrawn by the Ross County Prosecutor's Office.
On September 30, 2019, James Rinehart was found guilty on three charges of aggravated murder and a first-degree felony, and sentenced to 35 years to life in prison. The court also mandated that he pay restitution in various sums, including $122 to Haller Funeral Home to settle any outstanding funeral costs.
James Rinehart is still a prisoner at the London Correctional Institution in Union Township, Madison County. He will be eligible for his first parole hearing in September 2054, according to his prison records.
The Murder Tapes' new episode, For Love or Money, will be available to stream on October 3, 2023 at 9 pm ET on ID.
