Attorney: Homicide charge discussed against Dayton woman in deadly police chase

A homicide charge is being discussed for a Dayton woman accused of prompting a deadly high-speed Moraine police chase in Miami Twp. last month, according to her attorney.

The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office is considering that count against Alyssa Irwin-Debraux after the Sept. 11 fatal crash on Ohio 741 involving Officer Matt Barrie and a Lebanon Realtor not involved in the pursuit, said defense attorney Travis Kane.

Mary Taulbee was pronounced dead after the Carnation Road collision that ended Barrie’s chase for a Jeep reported stolen minutes earlier.

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Kane said he spoke Thursday with a prosecutor while his client remains in the Montgomery County Jail, where she has been in custody on a $25,000 cash bond, records show.

“That investigation will take some time and they’ll make the decision if they want to go forward with that,” Kane said. “In the event there are homicide charges filed then that will definitely cause a change in circumstances.”

Irwin-Debraux, 18, was indicted last month on grand theft in connection with the stolen Jeep. A judge last week entered a not guilty plea for her. Her next court date is Oct. 15.

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Irwin-Debraux said she stole the Jeep to escape a rape, according to witness statements made in a Miami Twp. police report obtained by this news organization through a public records request.

Kane declined to comment on the rape claim. But prosecutors said they have “considerably different” information than what witnesses said Irwin-Debraux told them after she crashed the Jeep near the Dayton Mall after the fatal crash.

Asked to comment on the validity of the reported claim by Irwin-Debraux, prosecutor’s office Spokesman Greg Flannagan responded, “The information you have is considerably different than the information that we have.”

When asked to elaborate, Flannagan added in an email, “The evidence will come out when this case proceeds to trial.”

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The owner of the Jeep reported it stolen from Harrison Twp. just after 6 p.m. Sept. 11 and said she was tracking it on GPS when it entered Moraine, records show.

Before the theft, the owner’s fiancee said he left keys in the Jeep as he exited it to talk to a co-worker. About 15 minutes later, the fiancee said, the vehicle was gone.

Information about the stolen vehicle was relayed to Moraine police and, minutes later, Barrie said he spotted a vehicle matching the Jeep’s description.

Records show Barrie sought to perform a traffic stop on Ohio 741 in Moraine and the Jeep fled. Barrie received permission to pursue, recording speeds up to 80 miles per hour southbound into Miami Twp., according to police documents.

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As the Jeep and the police cruiser approached Carnation Road, a Hyundai driven by Taulbee, 57, and a Chrysler driven by Brandon Miller, 32, of Centerville, were both heading north on Ohio 741, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The Chrysler swerved to avoid the Jeep and struck the Hyundai. Taulbee’s car then “spun out of control, crossed the center line and into the path” of the Moraine patrol car, according to the state report.

Taulbee – a Realtor in Dayton, Englewood, Lebanon, Miamisburg, Springboro and Washington Twp. – was pronounced dead at Kettering Hospital.

-MORE COVERAGE ON THIS ISSUE:

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