LIBERTY TWP, Ohio - The family of a woman who was killed and found in Liberty Township is demanding that trustees not approve Liberty Township Police Captain Toby Meloro to become interim police chief after a report accuses him of not thoroughly investigating her death.

Loraine Lynn's family is calling on the chairman of the trustees, Arnie Clebone, to do what they say is the right thing and not allow Meloro to lead the police department.

An internal affairs report obtained by 21 News accuses Meloro of "Unsatisfactory Performance," "Dereliction of Duty," and "Misfeasance in the Performance of his Duties," for his handling of the investigation into the death of 60-year-old Loraine Lynn. 

Lynn's body was found on August 2, 2017, in a pond at her mother's property on Shannon Road after what appeared to be a tractor accident. 

However, Lynn's family told Meloro they believed foul play was involved and Lynn's sister had viewed suspicious activity on video at the property.

According to the report, that video was forwarded to Meloro, but he did not review it or follow up with Lynn's family, who eventually took the video to a private investigator. 

Lynn's death was not ruled a homicide until February of this year and the case was re-assigned.

The report also says Meloro was seen backing Lynn's towed vehicle out of the police garage and that it was never processed for evidence and gave it back to the family.

During the course of the investigation, Captain Meloro kept a case log that indicated several interviews were conducted, but the board said that no audio or video recordings existed and no actual written statements were obtained by Meloro. 

The board said Meloro did not get close enough to the actual scene of the crime to even see the body. 

The victim's daughter and sister both said that they feel like they have been let down by police.

"It is awful, you feel powerless. I think you get a different feeling. You think the police are there to help and protect you and then all of a sudden you have this feeling like maybe they're not," described Lynn's sister Diane Pullin.

Pullin said that the late coroner Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk told her that Lynn died from asphyxiation. 

Chief Richard Tisone, who is retiring by the end of this week, said in his summary of the report that he expects charges to be filed in this homicide case.

Chief Tisone said he will be leaving any discipline regarding Meloro to the discretion of the Board of Trustees and its legal counsel. 

"...It does not negate the fact that had Captain Meloro followed the video evidence to its logical conclusion, we would have learned eight days after the incident that this was not an accident and that the evidence would have taken this investigation into another direction."                                                                                                                                                                                 - Chief Richard Tisone

Liberty Township law director Cherry Poteet tells 21 News Meloro has not been placed on leave and is still slated to take over as interim chief on Monday, August 20, unless trustees take disciplinary action before that time. 

Clebone said based on what they have, they do not want to take any action and do not want to jeopardize the future of the police department. 

"We have all of the confidence in the world. He's a 25-year veteran and we have a lot of confidence in him as we do the rest of the police department."

He went on to say that Meloro has an impeccable record and that as things develop, trustees will take whatever action is appropriate but at this point there is no action being considered by trustees. 

Trustee Jodi Stoyak was the only trustee to oppose Meloro's appointment as interim chief. Stoyak tells 21 News she still stands by that vote. 

"I'm confident about the way I voted," Stoyak said, but added she will not likely introduce any disciplinary measures before the board since she believes it would be futile since Meloro already has the support of the other trustees. 

21 News has also reached out to Meloro who said "I can't comment on it because it's an open homicide investigation. Once the investigation is over I will. Obviously, there's a lot more to it than the report indicates."

He added that he cannot respond because his response would give details that involve the homicide and he will not jeopardize any part of the investigation.