Four Cincinnati men have been indicted on multiple charges related to a 2016 murder-for-hire case after a break in the investigation attributed to advancements in technology, Hamilton County prosecutors reported. The indictment comes nearly nine years after 23-year-old Kareem Howell was found shot in Westwood's 3100 block of Bracken Woods Lane and later died at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
The suspects—Darius Holley, 32; Charlie Dailey, 29; Romello Wheeler, 30; and Brandon Webster, 33—are facing a series of charges, including aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, and aggravated robbery. As WLWT reported, Howell had been involved in home invasion robberies before his death, allegedly terrorizing one of the suspects' mothers, which ostensibly led to the bounty on his life.
According to the findings, Wheeler and Webster are alleged to have financed the hit, offering $30,000 to Holley and Dailey to execute Howell. After providing proof of the killing, the bounty was reportedly fulfilled. While details on the whereabouts of all the suspects are not fully clear, FOX 19 confirms that at least two of the men are currently imprisoned for separate offenses.
Charlie Dailey is detained in the Hamilton County Justice Center on charges from a 2022 indictment for an unrelated killing in North Fairmount. Likewise, Darius Holley is incarcerated at the Ross Correctional Institution for drug and weapons convictions. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections provided these details. Meanwhile, the current status of Wheeler and Webster remains ambiguous, with Cincinnati police not yet confirming their custody situations.
