Woman charged in Mercer County death of Columbus man sentenced to 30 years to life in prison

A woman arrested in Indiana and charged in Mercer County for the death of Ryan Zimmerman received her sentencing on Thursday. 

Sarah Buzzard received a sentence of life in prison, with a possibility of parole after serving 30 years. 

The case started back in 2015, after Sarah Buzzard and her wife Naria Whitaker allegedly strangled Ryan Zimmerman to death and dismembered his body in Columbus, Ohio. They then dumped part of the body along Coldwater Creek in Mercer County.

The remains were not discovered until 2016 by a person walking along the creek bed. Whitaker took her own life when she was being arrested on the murder charge. 

Before a sentencing was delivered, the defendant was able to read a statement to the court.

"Not a day goes by that I do not wish for a chance to take it all back," said Buzzard. "I accept responsibility in the role I played in Ryan's death and I will live everyday for the rest of my life attempting to redeem myself through positive actions and deeds."

The family of Ryan Zimmerman were also granted a moment to read impact statements to the court.

"My kids will never know their uncle Ryan," said Manda Moore, Ryan Zimmerman's sister. "They will never be able to talk with him, and see the similarities that I see that they have with him. They will never get to play those games with him, and they would have loved them so much."

Before Judge Ingraham delivered the sentence, Mercer County Prosecutor Matthew Fox reminded the court of previous confessions from Buzzard of the murder and plot to murder Zimmerman. 

The prosecution also referenced a part in the defendants statement, where she stated that she is a flawed person. 

"The only mistake that was made in this case, your honor, was Ryan Zimmerman making the mistake of trusting the Buzzards, to move to Columbus to be with them," said Matthew Fox, Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney. "She claims, as I said a moment ago, she is a flawed person... well, aren't we all flawed? But yet, she's the only in the room, committing an aggravated murder." 

Buzzard originally faced 18 charges, including murder, felonious assault, kidnapping, gross abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, and grand theft of a motor vehicle.

A plea deal was previously accepted by the defendant that had her plead guilty to one count of aggravated murder in exchange for the rest of her charges dismissed. An agreed sentence recommendation between the defense and state was also reached at that time, with a recommendation of 30 years to life presented to the court.