Prime Crime: Ohio Mom of 4 Predicts Her Own Murder

After Amanda Dean's disappearance, the Huron County Sheriff's Office informed her family that she was located, safe in a shelter, and would contact them when she chose. This led to the case being closed and Amanda's name being removed from the missing persons database, effectively halting any official investigation for over five years.

The sheriff told the family that she had been located and was in a safe house, and that she could come home or call her family if she wanted. The sheriff even called off the bolo, closing the case. Amanda wasn't even listed as a missing person when the BCI reopened the case.

Despite the official closure, Amanda's family never believed she would abandon them. They continuously tried to contact the sheriff, hired a private investigator, and eventually reached out to Cleveland Missing in late 2022. This organization's involvement, along with local police chief John Majoy, was instrumental in getting the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) to reopen the cold case.

Amanda just didn't seem like that person who would just simply abandon her mom, her sister, her children. Shannon Dean sent Sheriff Corbin a demand for proof of life letter. In December 2022, Cleveland Missing was contacted by the family of Amanda Dean. When Cleveland Missing stepped in, someone finally listened.

Investigators discovered a police report detailing a domestic violence incident where Frederick Rear gave Amanda a black eye. Amanda had texted her sister about the incident, expressing relief that authorities knew what he was doing, but she chose not to press charges. Rear also controlled Amanda's communication by destroying her phones.

There was a police report that was filed. Fred gave her a black eye. Amanda said she did not want to press charges. She text me when she had the chance and she said 'You made the situation a little bit worse, but at least they know what he's doing to me.' Fred always got rid of her phones.

The BCI's renewed investigation included a thorough search of Rear's property and interviews with witnesses. One witness reported seeing Fred cleaning a bloody mess in his cabin in July 2017, and another stated he was burning items at a burn pile for four days, claiming he was burning Amanda after chopping her up.

One witness said he went to Fred's cabin in July of 2017 and he saw blood everywhere. He was cleaning up the mess, the bloody mess with rags. There was another witness that said he was burning at a burn pile for 4 days, and that he was burning Amanda for 4 days. After he chopped her up.

Frederick Rear was arrested and, facing strong circumstantial evidence but no body, was offered a proffer agreement. He admitted to killing Amanda, dismembering her body, burning her remains, and dumping her bones in a creek. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, two counts of tampering with evidence, and gross abuse of a corpse, receiving a 14-year prison sentence.

Fred Weir was given a proffer. He had admitted that he burned Amanda's body, put her bones in a bucket, and then took them to this creek and dumped them off a bridge. Rear pleaded guilty to four felonies, including involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence, and gross abuse of a corpse. The total was 14 years.

Dissatisfied with the 1-year maximum sentence for gross abuse of a corpse in Ohio, Amanda's family is actively working with state representatives to propose "Amanda Dean's Law." This legislation aims to increase the penalty for gross abuse of a corpse to up to 8 years in prison, seeking to strengthen justice for victims of similar atrocities.

In Ohio, the max you can get is 1 year for that. It's Amanda's family who is fighting right now to have that punishment be changed, to have that be up to 8 years in prison. We're entitling it Amanda Dean's Law, and we hope with that law to strengthen penalties when someone commits these unspeakable acts of violence.