Background: News footage of James Rothenbusch during his sentencing hearing on Feb. 12 (WLWT). Inset: Brittany Fuhr-Storms (GoFundMe).
One of three Ohio men facing charges for trying to cover up the death of a pregnant woman has been sentenced to prison.
James Rothenbusch, 52, pleaded guilty to complicity to tampering with evidence in connection with the death of 28-year-old Brittany Fuhr-Storms. During a hearing on Thursday, a judge sentenced him to 30 months in prison for the crime, which was uncovered on Aug. 3, 2025, when Fuhr-Storms' body was found stuffed in a storage tote in a wooded area. Fuhr-Storms was pregnant at the time of her death, which authorities said was due to an "alleged overdose."
Rothenbusch was charged, along with 47-year-old Rick Sheppard and 44-year-old Walter Wade, who are expected to go on trial next month. Authorities said the men failed to report Fuhr-Storms' death after she died in a Middletown, Ohio, home that was connected to Rothenbusch and Sheppard.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Sheppard told police that he and Rothenbusch kept Fuhr-Storms' body in the bathtub of the home for four days after she died. Her naked body was found "wrapped in towels and a tarp" inside a plastic storage tote that was sealed shut with screws. The tote was dumped in a wooded area in neighboring Montgomery County.
During his sentencing, Rothenbusch told the judge that he was high on methamphetamine at the time of Fuhr-Storms' death and "just didn't know what to do. I was scared to death."
Rothenbusch was remorseful during the hearing and apologized for his actions. Fuhr-Storms' brother, Nathan Isaacs, was not immediately forgiving. When he spoke, he told the court, "She died in his house with my nephew," and instead of celebrating the birth of her baby boy and her birthday, the family had to plan a funeral.
Isaacs said, "The fact that that person did not call when that happened, and she laid in there, in that tub for a few days, and they planned on doing God knows what to her body, and to dispose of her body in a tote tells me that they're guilty of so much more."
Rothenbusch was originally charged with tampering with evidence, complicity to tampering with evidence, corrupting another with drugs, aggravated possession of drugs, and failure to report knowledge of a death. All but the complicity charge were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Sheppard and Wade were both charged with gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Wade is scheduled to go on trial on March 9; Sheppard's trial is scheduled for March 16.
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