WAPAKONETA, OH – A woman from Ohio is set to serve a life sentence after admitting to the calculated murder of her estranged husband during a custody exchange in May 2022, a crime prosecutors described as chilling in both its planning and execution.

Amanda Leigh Hovanec, now 38, appeared in Auglaize County Court of Common Pleas last month, where she pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated murder in the death of her husband, 36-year-old Timothy Hovanec. Her plea comes while she is already serving a 40-year federal sentence for multiple felonies, including distribution of a controlled substance that resulted in death.

Timothy Hovanec, who worked as a researcher for the U.S. State Department, had recently received a court order granting him summer custody of the couple’s three daughters. Authorities say that Amanda Hovanec, in the midst of a contentious divorce and following extended disputes over custody, plotted to kill her husband just two days after the ruling.

According to court filings, Amanda enlisted the help of Anthony Theodorou, a South African national with whom she’d developed a relationship during her husband’s overseas assignment, as well as her mother, Anita Green. Both Theodorou and Green have been convicted of related federal crimes and are awaiting trial on state charges linked to the murder.

On the day of the murder, as Timothy Hovanec returned the children to Amanda’s home, he began unloading car seats from his vehicle. At that moment, Amanda approached from behind and injected him with a potent veterinary tranquilizer known as M-99, a substance approximately a thousand times stronger than morphine and generally reserved for immobilizing large wildlife.

Investigators say the attack and ensuing struggle were captured by a dash camera installed in Timothy’s vehicle. The footage reportedly shows Amanda rushing at her husband, a confrontation between the two, and moments later, Timothy collapsing on the driveway as Amanda disables his electronic devices.

Evidence presented in court revealed that Theodorou had shipped the lethal drug to Amanda a month earlier after preparing a shallow grave at a rural site formerly owned by Amanda’s grandfather. Court documents indicate Amanda suffocated her husband after he was incapacitated, then, with Theodorou’s assistance, placed his body in her SUV.

The day following the slaying, Amanda’s mother, Anita Green, drove the pair and Timothy’s remains to the grave site near Blank Pike and Wrestle Creek Road. There, Amanda and Theodorou conducted the burial with shovels borrowed from Green, who later picked up the two accomplices after the task was completed.

Amanda’s initial account to authorities stated that Timothy had simply left after dropping off the children. However, after being confronted with the damning video evidence, she admitted to injecting him with what she called “poison” and acknowledged her awareness that the drug was fatal and would act within minutes.

Further details from federal prosecutors revealed that Amanda had forewarned her mother about her intent to kill Timothy, and she also informed Green after carrying out the act. Investigators tied Amanda and her two co-defendants through physical evidence, digital communications, and their own admissions.

Amanda Hovanec’s sentencing date in state court has yet to be scheduled, but under Ohio law, she faces a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Meanwhile, Anita Green and Anthony Theodorou remain in custody, awaiting a pretrial hearing on state charges of complicity to aggravated murder. That hearing is currently set for March 13.