A defendant in a gruesome Mahoning County murder case has been out of jail on bond. She cut a deal agreeing to testify against others so she would be sentenced to probation.

Now the Special Prosecutor on the case wants Katrina Layton's plea vacated.

They claim their star witness not only lied to them but has been talking to the main suspect in prison -- and has even accepted his marriage proposal.

Defense Attorney Lynn Maro tells the Judge, "They (prosecutors) got the benefit of the bargain out of Miss Layton if they zapped everything they could out of her and then pulled the rug out and said no, you don't get your plea now. They don't get to do that.  The only way you can determine that is if you order Detective Lambert's Grand Jury testimony.  Because that will show how much of her information, they used and then decided to change their mind and tried to take her plea away."

Katrina Layton's attorneys contend she's provided key information in the 2017 Shannon Graves murder and dismemberment case.  Details that have led to indictments and several dozen search warrants.

Graves' body was found in the freezer of a Campbell home. She had been reported missing.

But the Prosecutor tells the Judge he wants Layton, who is one of four co-defendants, back in jail on a $1,000,000 bond.

Special Prosecutors with the Ohio Attorney General's Office say Layton pled guilty to tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice and was free on bond in exchange for her cooperation and truthful testimony against others.

However, they say Layton has been caught on the recorded lines of the prison telephones talking to convicted killer Arturo Novoa, who is in prison serving 48 years to life for Graves' murder.

Layton has allegedly even agreed to marry Novoa behind bars, using her autistic son Isaiah as the telephone go-between to accept the proposal.

Special Prosecutor Dan Kasaris says, "Isaiah begins to relay messages between Mr. Novoa and the defendant, including a marriage proposal and a marriage acceptance. And where the two will be married at, and how Katrina Layton will get the proper documents so that the two can be married in prison. Mr. Novoa will get whatever he needs to get from the prison authorities, so the two people, the two love birds, can be married in prison."

Defense Attorney Maro says, "There was communication with an individual who had been sentenced, or her testimony was no longer needed against."

However, prosecutors say convicted killer Novoa has filed a notice of appeal in the case.

The defense still argues a $1,000,000 bond is excessive for Layton.

Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Anthony Donofrio will determine if Layton's current bond should be revoked within the next week.

Two other defendants have yet to be sentenced for their role in Graves' murder.

Judge Donofrio also heard arguments on both sides of three other legal motions regarding the Graves' murder case, including a request by the defense to inspect the Grand Jury Proceedings.

The reason behind that motion is to find out how much the Prosecution has benefited from the information provided by co-defendant Katrina Layton.