Ohio Doctor Charged With Rape And Murder Of Pregnant Woman

Delaware, OH – An Ohio doctor was charged Wednesday with drugging, raping, and murdering a pregnant woman whose body was discovered stuffed in the back seat of her car last summer.

Ali Salim, 44, of New Albany was indicted on nine felony counts in the deaths of Deanna Ballman, 23, and her unborn baby.

The doctor was also found guilty of giving Ballman a dose of heroin before he raped the young woman. An autopsy later discovered that her death was a direct result of a heroin overdose.

A resident of Pataskala, Ballman was nine-months pregnant when she was reported missing. Police discovered her body on August 1 in a parked vehicle near a roadway northeast of Columbus.

According to FOX News, relatives of Ballman said she was on her way to a New Albany house-cleaning job she found listed on Craigslist. Ballman called her mother, Lori Ballman, and told her she didn’t feel well, but the call was dropped shortly after.

The sheriff and prosecutor said that the Ohio doctor Salim was arrested at his home and taken to jail Wednesday to await his arraignment scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Sheriff Russ Martin said that the deaths of the young woman and her unborn child were a “horrific crime.”

“We hope today is the beginning of some form of closure for this family and other loved ones,” Martin said.

The Columbus Dispatch said that Lori Ballman was relieved to know that her daughter’s murderer was in custody.

The heinous acts of Ohio doctor Salim leave Ballman’s two young children, ages 1 and 3, with her mother in Pataskala.