Owen County woman behind bars for Poland death

Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 9:31 AM

By Paul Gable

An Owen County woman has found herself behind bars following the death of another woman last weekend in Owen County.

According to court documents, law enforcement was called to a property along Private Road 525 West near State Road 42 early Saturday morning to break up a fight.

A law enforcement officer arrived and encountered Samantha Mae Mayhew, 33, Poland, who was walking along the road. Mayhew had blood all over her face and clothes and a large laceration on her cheek. The officer asked Mayhew what happened and Mayhew responded by asking the officer to leave her alone.

Mayhew told the officer that "they were trying to get her for that girl not breathing," and also urged the officer to go to the scene and "get that girl breathing."

The person Mayhew was talking about was later identified as Kiersten Moore, who was knocked unconscious and pronounced dead at Putnam County Hospital. Court documents state she was the girlfriend of Mayhew's brother, Taylor.

Those at the disturbance told police they initially thought Moore was knocked out, but when she didn't wake up, they noticed she was not breathing and began administering CPR. Responding law enforcement officers described Moore as not having any visible injuries.

Several witnesses told police Mayhew was on top of Moore and possibly choked the victim. Another told police Mayhew grabbed the hoodie Moore was wearing, sending both Mayhew and Moore toward a rock pile near a firepit, where Moore was later found.

Mayhew was held in the Owen County Jail on a $30,000 cash bond. She is slated to return to court on April 16 for a pretrial hearing.