A Cincinnati halfway house at the center of a controversy surrounding an alleged serial killer, as well as an alleged inmate killer, has the worst record of any of the state’s 23 halfway houses when it comes to keeping track of its residents, says the Cincinnati Enquirer. Close to a third of the residents of the Volunteers of America-run Pogue Center have walked away from the program, according to a state investigation. The state average is 15 percent.
One center resident, Anthony Kirkland, was discharged after fighting a fellow resident in late February. Eight days later, he was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murdering a 13-year-old girl. Then he was indicted in the 2006 slayings of another teen and woman. In all three cases, the victims’ bodies had been burned in an attempt to destroy evidence of sexual assault. Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Monzel said the state did not properly address the fundamental problems of the center. The center’s AWOL rate of 30 percent set Monzel off. “It’s crazy. That in itself is a red flag,” Monzel said. “That to me is negligence.”