COLUMBUS, Ohio — It was five years ago today that a one-time Lucas County family's life was turned upside down.
Reagan Tokes was an Anthony Wayne High School grad and was a senior at Ohio State. She was leaving work in Columbus when she was kidnapped, raped, and killed by Brian Golsby on this night back in 2017.
Golsby had been released from prison months before and was wearing a GPS ankle monitor - but investigators say no one was tracking him.
Since that night her family and state legislators have been working to prevent things like this from ever happening again. And today, on this anniversary of her death, there was a vote toward change.
The Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt changes to the Reagan Tokes Act.
State Rep. Rick Carfagna, R-Genoa Township, is one of the bill's sponsors.
"I'm a father of a 15-year-old daughter - and every time we revisit this story it hits me in a very personal place," Carfagna said.
Part of the act is on the books already, targeting criminal sentencing, but Carfagna says these additions go deeper and they shore up what he says are vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system.
The additions to HB 166 passed Tuesday develop advanced monitoring of criminal offenders. The bill will reduce parole officer caseloads, giving them the time to monitor with a laser focus.
And, the bill would require the establishment of post-release, re-entry programs for violent felons. According to investigators, that's something where Tokes' killer, Brian Golsby, slipped through the cracks.
On the news out of Columbus, WTOL 11 reached out to Lisa McCrary-Tokes who told us she and the Tokes family have been pushing for this legislation behind the scenes. She says she's hopeful this bill becomes law because she truly believes it will save lives.
Ohio state Reps. Haraz Ghanbari, R-Perrysburg, and Michael Sheehy, D-Oregon, are cosponsors on this bill. It's scheduled for a full vote by the Ohio House of Representatives Feb. 9.
But that's only half the battle. If it passes there then it's on to the Ohio Senate and potentially full passage by the end of this General Assembly.