Bond lowered for man charged with arson after girlfriend found dead in Jefferson Memorial Forest

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A man arrested after a woman was found dead at Jefferson Memorial Forest will remain in jail.

Lynnden Bray was reported missing July 13 after her dogs and car were found at Jefferson Memorial Forest. She was later found dead. The coroner's report said she died from hanging.

Bray's boyfriend, Timothy Winterholler, 37, was arrested a few days after her death and charged with arson but he hasn't been charged in connection with her death. Police said Winterholler admitted to setting a fire inside her car, damaging the driver's seat.

Judge Tanisha Hickerson found there was probable cause to charge him with arson in the second degree.

"LMPD interviewed him on July 14, and he stated to them that he had set the vehicle on fire during an argument with Ms. Bray," Sgt. Jason Gray with Louisville Metro Arson testified at Monday's hearing, adding that Winterholler set the car on fire because "he was angry at her leaving and was trying to destroy it."

Investigators said Winterholler used a lighter and lit the detached seat cover on fire and that spread to the seat cushion. Gray said Winterholler also pulled some wires out of the ignition, which were still hanging down when the car was examined by investigators.

Winterholler's public defender, Catherine Howard, argued he should be charged with criminal mischief, but the judge sided with the Commonwealth's Attorneys Office.

"I want to make it clear — and for everyone to know and for everyone in this courtroom — that my client isn’t charged with any sort of homicide," Howard said. "He's not charged with the murder of his girlfriend."

Howard argued that Winterholler should be charged with criminal mischief and not arson and asked for a lower bond because Winterholler lit the detached car seat cover on fire and not the actual vehicle.

"The fact that he's here on an arson in second degree is because they have this investigation ongoing and they wanted to be able to saddle him with these high charges in order to keep him on a high bond," Howard said. "But what we'd see in any other situation is a criminal mischief charge."

Dorislee Gilbert, the prosecutor in the case, argued against the lower bond, saying Winterholler is a flight risk and pointed to his criminal past.

"He has prior convictions for domestic violence ..." Gilbert said. "In this case, the property that he damaged was that of his girlfriend, again, an act of domestic violence."

In the end, the judge decided to lower Winterholler's bond from $50,000 full cash to $25,000 full cash.

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