Amish Man Pleads Guilty To Murder Of Amish Woman Rosanna Kinsinger, Sentenced To Life in Prison

A very sad and awful story is now coming to an end of sorts, as Samuel Hochstetler has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in the death of 28-year-old Amish woman Rosanna Kinsinger.

Kinsinger was found dead in her Meigs County, Ohio home back in March 2025. Hochstetler, 18 at the time, was arrested and charged nearly two months later in the crimes.

After a series of court appearances, Hochstetler had initially pleaded not guilty, but yesterday in court changed that plea to guilty. From the reporting at WOWK:

In court on Friday, July 24, Hochstetler changed his not guilty plea for the charge of aggravated murder to guilty in the Meigs County Court of Common Pleas. The Prosecutor’s office moved to dismiss the additional charges and specifications as a result of the plea.

Hochstetler was also sentenced Friday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. He will also be required to register as both a violent offender and as a Tier III sex offender. The judge said he also will receive credit for time already served.

The Two Were Not In A Relationship

To quell any speculation that has emerged over this story, it should be noted that Hochstetler and Kinsinger were not in any type of romantic relationship, according to testimony of those who knew them:

Prosecutor James Stanley said that on the day Kinsinger was last seen alive, she had been working with the defendant and others to build a greenhouse.

“The defendant and Rosanna were not courting, they were not dating, they were not together, they were not seeing each other, they were not engaged in a casual sexual relationship,” Stanley said.

In fact, friends testified that Kinsinger didn’t particularly like Hochstetler.

Those who last saw the pair on March 12, 2025, said they saw “the defendant acting in a manner that was showing off toward Rosanna or attempting to flirt with Rosanna.”

Hochstetler later that day entered Kinsinger’s home, committed sexual assault, and smothered her, killing her.

Hochstetler Informed Parents Of Her Death & Stayed In Their Home

After her body was found, Hochstetler was a part of a group of people who walked two miles to the Kinsingers’ home to inform her parents of her death, with Hochstetler being the one to tell her father.

He then placed himself in the role, common in Amish communities, of helping with household chores, and being present as they mourned, even staying several nights at their home:

Stanley said Hochstetler didn’t stop there. “The State thinks that aside from raping and murdering Rosanna, perhaps the most cruel thing that he did happened next when he volunteered to go to the Kinsinger farm to help them with their chores and to prepare the barn for her funeral,” Stanley said.

“He not only helped, but he was a welcome guest in their home. And he wasn’t just a guest during the day; he was a guest during the night and spent the night Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night after he had killed Rosanna. Rosanna’s parents and siblings had no idea that they had welcomed her murderer into their home, and that he was right there with them the entire time that they mourned her loss.”

Hochstetler’s attorney framed what happened this way:

Hochstetler’s attorney conceded that the defendant had killed the victim, but said the smothering was more a “result of his lack of experience,” suggesting it was accidental. “In speaking with him, he has a great amount of remorse and sorrow, but what took place on March 12, 2025, was never his intention.”

Whether or not it was his intention, he has pleaded guilty to the crime and will spend life in prison, barring release on parole. For his part, Hochstetler had this to say:

“I’m sorry for everything I did. I wish I could go back to those days and make a different life,” Hochstetler said in a brief address to the court. “I don’t know how to fully express how sorry I am for all this.”

He will be first eligible for parole after 25 years, in the year 2050.

One big reason that the state offered this plea deal rather than attempt to convict hinges on Hochstetler’s confession to killing Kinsinger. That confession, made at the sheriff’s office when he was brought in for DNA collection, was later ruled not admissible in court. That’s because it was decided Hochstetler didn’t understand his rights at the time of the confession.

“Outgoing, Friendly” Rosanna Came To Teach

Rosanna Kinsinger had moved to Meigs County from Missouri to become a school teacher. I think it’s safe to say that nowhere in her wildest imagination would she have expected anything like this could happen when she decided to move to a new community.

Rosanna’s father Moses Kinsinger spoke about his daughter last year, saying that “Rosanna was an outgoing, friendly person who liked being around people, and her death was shocking.”

About Samuel Hochstetler, he also said at the time that “he hopes Hochstetler is repentant, the family wants to forgive him, and through God there is forgiveness.”

I hope that this decision will do something to help this family heal from the loss of Rosanna.